China turning to the humble potato
Updated
The UN's World Food Programme has warned of a growing crisis, to feed the poor.
Now, food economists are looking to the humble potato for the solution. Last year was the International Year of the Potato, and at the International Potato Centre in Peru - known as CIP they say they've spread the message to 20 million people.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Paul Stapleton manager of public awareness at the International Potato Centre in Peru
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STAPLETON: Oh gosh there's more than a billion people eat potatoes worldwide, they're eaten all over the world. Nowadays more people eat the potato in the developing countries than the developed world. It's difficult to say how many countries, it's something like 120, 130 countries.
LAM: So generally, are potatoes easy to grow?
STAPLETON: Generally yes they are, I'd say yes they are indeed.
LAM: But do they need a particular climate?
STAPLETON: No they grow from the tip of Chile right up to the northern most countries in Scandinavia, and grow them all across the world.
LAM: And of course China with its one-point-three-billion people, I mean the Chinese love their rice but is the potato growing in popularity in China?
STAPLETON: China is the largest producer of potato in the world; they produce over 70 million tons of potato. And the Chinese government is looking to increase that to 120 million tons in the next five years to be able to feed their growing population. So yes consumption is increasing in China.
LAM: Are potatoes economical to grow, for instance, in terms of water, land and other resources?
STAPLETON: Yes indeed, it sounds a bit like a commercial here, one hectare of potato can yield two to four times the value of food grains, particularly rice and wheat. Potatoes use seven times less water than rice and they yield more food per unit of water than any other major crop. So really they are a crop of choice if you do have the luxury of choosing.
LAM: And Paul I understand that there is more research now into the potato. What exactly are they looking at?
STAPLETON: Well they're looking at several different aspects, potatoes are susceptible to a number of pretty vicious diseases. There's one called "late blight" which can wipe out a whole crop in two or three days, and there's one called "bacterial wilt" which is very difficult to treat. So particularly the Institute I work at, The International Potato Centre, we're trying to develop potatoes that are disease resistant but will also give good high yields and also function well under tropical conditions.
LAM: So what do you say Paul to people who think potatoes help you gain weight, that it's full of carbohydrates?
STAPLETON: The potatoes don't have you gain weight, it's what you put on them helps you gain weight.
LAM: So you've been quite successful in persuading people to eat more potatoes?
STAPLETON: Yes indeed I think we have, we've accessed a lot of people all over the world, there's been a tremendous amount of press interest and we're hoping to see an increase in the serve of potatoes from now on, yes indeed.
