Potato farm ready to serve chips

PepsiCo Foods (China) Co Ltd, the Chinese arm of the beverage and food giant, joined hands with local agricultural authorities in launching a potato-crop demonstration farm on Friday in Yanchi county, the Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

The farm covers 33 hectares, and will use advanced technology in water management to boost potato cultivation, according to the company and local government.

The company said it would consider making substantial investment in potato farms in the region if yields in the demonstration farm prove worthwhile. All the potatoes produced will be used to make chips.

The food giant uses more than 4 million metric tons to produce chips annually. It currently has 7 potato farms in provinces across China, including the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Hubei province.

Thanks to advanced cultivation technology, the company’s potato yields per hectare in China have hit 45 tons. Water management solutions, meanwhile, can reduce water consumption in the potato farms by half, according to the company.