Ministry of Agriculture: potatoes are not used as dry food because we are short of food.

A few days ago, the Ministry of Agriculture revealed that it is necessary to lead the development of potato (commonly known as "potato") as a staple food by scientific and technological innovation. The news has aroused widespread concern. On January 15, the relevant responsible persons and experts of the Ministry of Agriculture were interviewed by reporters and publicly responded for the first time to various social concerns about the transformation of potatoes into staple grains.

Why add potatoes as staple food?

The background of the main grain transformation of potatoes is to implement the national food security strategy under the new situation.

Our country already has three staple grains, why add potatoes?

In this regard, Pan Wenbo, deputy director of the planting Management Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, said that in fact, potatoes have always been counted as grain in China, and they are the main grain varieties after corn, rice and wheat.

According to him, the proposal of the Ministry of Agriculture to promote the staple grain of potatoes is mainly based on three considerations: first, it can meet the needs of everyone to eat well and eat healthily. Potatoes are rich and comprehensive in nutrition, low in fat content and high in protein quality, which helps to inhibit body weight, clean up the intestines and prevent digestive system diseases. Second, it can meet the needs of structural optimization and resource development. There is a serious shortage of soil and water resources in China, and the pressure of ecological environment is increasing. It is necessary to change the development mode and optimize the planting structure in the northwest where there is a shortage of water resources, in North China where groundwater is seriously overexploited, and in the south where winter fallow fields are rich in resources. Potato production has a good effect of water-saving, land-saving, fertilizer-saving and drug-saving, and can be used as the main substitute crop for agricultural structure adjustment. Third, adapt to the new changes in the fast pace of life of urban and rural residents. Potatoes are easy to process, good in taste and nutritious, so they are very popular in fast food restaurants and in the homes of ordinary people. Promote the main grain of potatoes, processing potatoes into convenient food, semi-finished products, can meet the needs of the fast pace of life, time-saving, delicious and nutritious.

According to reports, the background of promoting the "staple grain" of potatoes is to implement the national food security strategy under the new situation, that is, to ensure basic self-sufficiency of grain and absolute safety of food rations. It also went through a process of scientific decision-making: the main leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture went to scientific research units for many times to discuss potato breeding, processing units and major producing areas, and held symposiums at various levels. from research to grass-roots feedback to the final formation of decision-making.

What is staple food? Dai Xiaofeng, director of the Agricultural products processing Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said vividly, "what you usually eat in your hand and hold in your hand is called staple food, and what you put on the middle plate is called non-staple food or dishes." Crops that become staple grains must be able to be produced in large areas and on a large scale; they can be stored in large quantities and for a long time; they can be accepted by most people and account for a major proportion of three meals a day; they can provide the energy and nutrition that most people need. "at present, what can be used as a staple grain is mainly the so-called cereal grains, including potatoes." Dai Xiaofeng said.

Wang Xiaohu, director of the Food and Nutrition Development Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture, believes that compared with wheat, corn and rice, potatoes have many advantages and have the conditions to be staple grains. Dai Xiaofeng said that although fresh potatoes have high water content, are not resistant to storage and are not convenient for transportation, processing them into whole flour and turning them into dry matter for storage is much more durable than flour and rice.

Although potatoes have been planted in China for more than 400 years, most of them are used as fresh dishes. Does this mean that the potato staple grain lacks a "mass base"?

Pan Wenbo believes that potatoes have not naturally become the real staple food in our country so far, which is due to the factors of traditional eating and consumption habits, and also because the public does not have enough understanding of the nutritional value of potatoes. Affected by these two factors, the breeding of special potato varieties suitable for processing is not enough, the research and development of the formula, technology and equipment for processing into staple food is not enough, and the industrialization development lags behind.

Dai Xiaofeng said that potatoes do not contain gluten protein, and when making steamed bread, noodles and other staple food products, there are some problems, such as difficult shaping, hard hair, high hardness, noodles easy to break, not resistant to cooking and so on. At present, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has successfully developed potato steamed bread with 40% potato flour and potato noodles with 35% potato flour, and initially realized industrial production. At the same time, a series of products such as potato steamed bread spontaneous flour and potato noodle flour have also been developed. Later, ordinary people can also make potato steamed bread and noodles at home.

Is the real reason that there is not enough food?

The relationship between the main grain of potato and food security is not to send charcoal in time, but to add icing on the cake.

Does the staple grain of potatoes mean that there is not enough food to eat, or if we do not find a substitute, we will go hungry?

"this view is not accurate. It can be said responsibly that China's grain production has been increased year after year, the warehouse is full, the grain supply is adequate, and the country's food security is guaranteed. " Pan Wenbo said.

There is a congenital shortage of cultivated land resources in our country. To solve the problem of feeding the Chinese people, we must strictly abide by the red line of cultivated land. On this point, the attitude of the central government is very firm. "on the one hand, we keep the red line of arable land. In accordance with the central plan and in cooperation with the Ministry of Land and Resources, we will strictly implement the cultivated land protection system, speed up the delineation of permanent basic farmland, and give priority to classifying high-quality farmland that can be easily occupied around cities and towns and along transportation lines as permanent basic farmland. On the other hand, keep the red line of cultivated land quality. Starting from this year, the Ministry of Agriculture will further strengthen the construction of the internal quality of cultivated land, focusing on soil improvement, soil fertility improvement, nutrient balance, and cultivated land restoration, and strive to improve the quality of cultivated land. " Pan Wenbo said that keeping food rations absolutely safe is at all costs.

The main food of potato is an important supplement to the absolute safety of rations. Pan Wenbo said: "Potato staple grain to ensure national food security, not timely help, but icing on the cake, is to make people eat better, more nutritious and healthier."

Pan Wenbo said that the future development of potato as the main grain is not only to develop potatoes in the northwest, but also to focus on structural layout and optimization, especially the development and utilization of winter fallow fields in the south. First, the northwest region should promote dry farming and water-saving technology and develop potatoes in accordance with local conditions. Second, the southern region should make full use of winter fallow fields and expand the cultivation of potatoes and other crops in winter. Third, in North China and other areas where there is a shortage of water resources, some water-saving crops, including potatoes, should be planted appropriately.

What is the focus of the main grain planting?

Develop and utilize 100 million mu of winter fallow fields in the south to increase potato yield per unit area

In recent years, the planting area of potato in China has been stable at more than 80 million mu, reaching 84.219 million mu in 2013, mainly distributed in the southwest, northeast, northwest and other regions.

Potato main grain planting goal is 150 million mu, now 80 million mu, where to expand planting mainly?

Pan Wenbo said that one of the basic principles of expanding potato cultivation is not to compete for land with rice, wheat, corn and other three major grains. After the implementation of potato staple grain, the focus of expanding the area is the development and utilization of winter fallow fields in the south. At present, the area of winter fallow fields in the south is 100 million mu. The key to what farmers grow depends on the price and is regulated by the market. The other direction is to increase per unit yield. At present, the average yield of fresh potatoes in China is more than 1150 kilograms per mu, which is 20 percent lower than the world average and less than half of that of developed countries. It should be said that tapping the potential of per unit yield is huge, and it is also feasible.

With regard to the question of growing potatoes with less grain discount, low yield per unit area and more land occupation, Dai Xiaofeng said: "it needs to be explained that potatoes in China are mostly planted on arable land with poor ecological conditions and poor soil fertility. As far as I know, in some places in Tengzhou, Shandong Province, the yield of potatoes per mu is more than 5000 kg, which is higher than that of wheat per mu after grain discount. Next, through scientific and technological progress, there is a lot of room to increase potato yield per unit area. "

In addition, with regard to the issue of genetically modified crops that many people are concerned about, Wang Xiaohu said: at present, China has not approved the commercial production of any genetically modified staple grains, has not approved the commercial cultivation of any genetically modified potato varieties, and has not issued a safety license for any genetically modified potatoes, nor has it approved the import of genetically modified potatoes. At present, there are more than 100 potato varieties used in production in China, mainly the conventional varieties bred from 1970s to 1990s, none of which are transgenic varieties.