WFP Zinc-Enriched Potatoes Project in Gansu Province

.

Overview of the project

Residents in Gansu Province have been planting potatoes for more than 400 years. As the dominant crop in Gansu, potato is the staple food and one of the main sources of income for local farmers. Since 2005, the potato planting area in Gansu has stabilized at about 0.67 million ha, and the total output of fresh potatoes is now 11 million tons. On a national scale, the potato planting area ranks third and the total output ranks second.

Rural residents in Gansu mainly rely on grains and potatoes to feed themselves. Consequently, this lack of dietary diversity and insufficient intake of fruits, vegetables and animal-derived foods result in the widespread issue of zinc deficiency in rural Gansu.

In response, UN World Food Programme (WFP) cooperated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Gansu Province to launch the "Zinc-Enriched Potatoes Pilot Project."  The project was launched in Gansu Province in October 2019, with a total project duration of four years. The four-year project aimed to cover various aspects, including the cultivation of nutritious and high-quality zinc-enriched potatoes, by combining technical poverty alleviation, industrial poverty alleviation and health poverty alleviation models. It also importantly aimed to provide practical support to farmers for the production of zinc-enriched potatoes. The overall project objective was to grant smallholder farmers access to potato planting and storage technologies, and help them improve the nutritional value of potatoes, develop the value chain and increase the economic value of zinc-enriched potatoes.

Approaches and Methodology

1. Promote new cultivation and storage technologies to help farmers produce zinc-enriched potatoes.

To initiate the project, project managers firstly selected high zinc local potato varieties and provided farmers with virus-free seed potatoes, fertilizers, pesticides, mulch films and other productive resources, which assured farmers of the legitimacy of the new potato planting technology. The project’s technical experts delivered field training during basal fertilization, sowing, pest control, foliar feeding and harvesting to provide hands on support to farmers in growing zinc-enriched potatoes. These efforts benefited a total of 6,062 farmers in the project’s first two years alone. The project also established two 0.67 ha potato production demonstration fields – one in Anding District and the other in Dongxiang County – to help farmers learn and develop skills for planting zinc-enriched potatoes.

To minimize storage losses after harvesting, experts built a new type of potato storage cellar tailored to the local conditions. These experts, who come from the Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, held onsite trainings in the newly built cellar to help local farmers master potato storage techniques and reduce storage losses. The cellar can reduce the potato storage loss rate by 5.7 percentage points when compared with traditional methods.

In addition, project experts measured and analyzed the zinc content of the local soil before the potato planting season and after the harvest every year to provide a scientific basis for rational fertilization and soil protection.

The new type of potato storage facility developed by the Institute of Agricultural Products Storage and Processing at the Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences

2. Establish enterprise standards for zinc-enriched potatoes to support brand building and marketing.

After measuring and analyzing zinc in the tubers of the main local potato varieties, the project’s technical support team was able to develop China’s first enterprise standard for zinc-enriched potatoes. The team based the standard on existing research on zinc in potatoes and existing standards for zinc in food. The standard  now serves as a guideline for the production and sales of zinc-enriched potatoes.

In an effort to strengthen the zinc-enriched potato market, promote sales and drive brand development, the project team collaborated with scientific researchers, media agencies and marketing experts. Together, they formulated the Gansu Zinc-enriched potato brand building and marketing strategies and designed a uniform brand logo, product packaging and publicity slogan.

3. Provide learning opportunities for farmers, residents and schoolchildren and enhance their nutritional awareness.

Through training, media publicity and community activities, the project provided nutrition education and dietary guidance for local farmers, informing them about the importance of adequate zinc intake and a balanced diet for human health and child growth.

The education and guidance also helped the farmers increase their zinc intake and improve their own health by consuming their own zinc-enriched potatoes and maintaining a balanced diet.

First, the project team cooperated with nutrition experts from Lanzhou University to produce four short educational animations respectively themed on zinc and human health, reasonable diet and nutritional health training for school age children, a food guide pagoda, and knowledge of potatoes and their nutritional value for local residents. The nutrition experts also provided in person special training sessions for local farmers, women and primary school pupils. These sessions covered topics such as micronutrients and human health, reasonable diet and health, children’s nutrition and balanced diets, and women’s nutrition and health. A total of 880 farmers and 910 primary school pupils received nutrition training in the first two years of the project.

In addition, the project team compiled The Guidebook on Diet and Nutrition for Residents in the Rural Areas of Gansu for the local smallholder farmers. The guidebook presents nutritional knowledge via pictures and texts, making it more engaging and easy to read for farmers, and especially women and children. The guide book has thus helped locals achieve a balanced diet and produce nutritious daily meals.

Results

This project, which combines poverty alleviation models with local pillar industry development and nutrition intervention, is able to promote the cultivation of nutritious and high-quality zinc-enriched potatoes in Gansu Province by increasing the output of agricultural products and enhancing the nutritional and economic value of potatoes. The fruitful results include the  increases in farmer incomes in poverty-stricken areas, improved nutrition among local populations, enhancement of sustainable agricultural development, and promotion of innovation in achieving a more efficient, nutritious, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood system.

A nutrition expert from Lanzhou University is pictured teaching primary school pupils about nutrition and health

1. Zinc-enriched potatoes are expected to bring considerable economic benefits to farmers.

Thanks to optimized potato varieties and new technologies, the average yield and zinc content of potatoes have been greatly improved in the implementation areas of the project. In 2021, the average yield of zinc-enriched potatoes per ha in Anding District and Dongxiang County were 1,710 kg and 1,500 kg, higher than the average yield per ha in the province, respectively. Meanwhile, zinc content was increased by an average of 27.5%, compared with ordinary potatoes. These figures were achieved despite Gansu suffering from high temperatures and severe droughts in some areas, which greatly affected potato yield.

After two years of variety selection and technical improvements, the zinc-enriched potatoes produced under the project entered the market with uniformed branding and packaging in 2022. Accordingly, the average annual income for farmers is expected to raise by US$447.76-671.64 per ha.

2. Zinc-enriched potatoes have increased farmers’ zinc intake.Potato is an important food source for farmers in Gansu. This project introduced zinc-enriched potato cultivation technologies to local households. By biofortifying this staple food with zinc, the project served to lower the cost of obtaining zinc-enriched food for farmers and increase zinc supply in their daily diets. The project also provided a series of nutritional education activities and dietary guidance. Encouraging farmers to eat self-produced zinc-enriched potatoes and maintain a balanced diet has increased their intake of zinc, thereby improving nutrition and health in poverty-stricken areas.

3. The new technologies introduced during the project have improved farmers’ abilities to resist natural disasters and cope with climate change.

Project experts tailored project activities to the arid and semi-arid ecological conditions in the region. In this sense, they promoted drought-tolerant and high-yield zinc-enriched potato varieties, and introduced green zinc-enriched potato cultivation technologies, standardized cultivation methods, and new and improved potato storage facilities. These actions have enhanced the efficient use of water resources in arid areas, and also improved farmers’ capacities to fend off drought, pests, diseases, and other natural disasters. Accordingly, farmers have been equipped to cope with the effects of climate change.

Related Link:

Small Potatoes can also Grow Into a Big Industry

http://www.wfpchinacoe.net/2023-01/06/content_85043730.shtml