China to grow more potatoes amid struggle to feed world’s most populous nation
Government seeks to double the amount of land given over to the crop as Beijing looks for new staple to meet the country's bigger appetite
Beijing is encouraging farmers to grow more potatoes to meet rising demand for food in the world's most populous nation.
The Ministry of Agriculture plans to nearly double the crop's acreage to 10 million hectares, although analysts warn the government must first convince farmers of the crop's appeal.
The government has identified food security as one of its greatest challenges over the next decade, as the population rises and farmland is swallowed up by urban and industrial growth.
While potato - the world's fourth-largest food crop after rice, wheat and corn - is prepared as both a vegetable and as a snack across most of China, it is used as a staple food only in poverty-stricken areas in the northwest.
Deputy minister of agriculture Yu Xinrong said on Tuesday that he hoped half of the potatoes produced by 2020 would be used as a staple food.
He pledged to improve the vegetable's yield to more than 30 tonnes per hectare.
"[Without] occupying land for growing the three top staple foods, the potato sowing acreage will be raised from the current 80 million mu (5.3 million hectares) to 150 million mu to better guarantee national food security," Yu said.