The little tuber set to make a big noise

Although the potato was introduced to China nearly 500 years ago, it is still mainly used as a side dish, rather than as a staple food. For many farmers, raising the level of potato cultivation is an easy task - the bigger challenge is getting people to eat them.

"In Western countries, potatoes can be cooked as french fries, roasted, boiled, baked or mashed. To make more people love potatoes, both the method of cooking and the taste can be improved to suit people daily needs," said Wang Pei, a researcher at the Joint Academy of Potato Science at Yunnan Normal University in Southwest China's Yunnan province.

Many Chinese cities developed potato-based snacks several decades ago. Starting in the 1980s, a large number of food companies in Yunnan exploited the business opportunities offered by the tuber and began making popular snacks, such as potato chips and french fries, from locally grown potatoes.