Dingbian Potatoes

Dingbian Potatoes

Dingbian Potatoes are a protected geographical indication product.

　　Potatoes are a traditional dual-purpose crop for both food and vegetables in Dingbian County, Shaanxi Province, and also the county's largest crop in terms of cultivation. They have a long planting history. In recent years, the Dingbian County Party Committee and the county government, following the strategic approach of "enriching the people through characteristic agriculture and leading with the potato economy," have remained committed to the potato industry. They have continuously optimized the planting layout, actively adjusted the variety structure, strengthened the promotion of high-quality potatoes, steadily advanced industrialized development, and made the potato industry the most advantageous and potential leading industry driving nearly 280,000 farmers in the county toward prosperity. In 2007, Dingbian County was named the "Hometown of Chinese Potato Specialties" by the Ministry of Agriculture, and received certification as a pollution-free agricultural product production base and product from Shaanxi Province. "Dingbian Potatoes" were registered and protected as a geographical indication by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, demonstrating the following four advantages:

　　 Large-scale planting bases with high yields. Potatoes are the most extensively cultivated and widely distributed crop in Dingbian County. By 2006, the planting area reached 1 million mu, with a total fresh potato yield of 1.05 million tons. There are 18 townships with contiguous planting bases over 10,000 mu, 8 townships with bases over 40,000 mu, and 3,000 specialized large-scale growers with plots over 100 mu. The per capita potato planting area for farmers in the county is 3.5 mu, accounting for 56% of the total crop planting area. Dingbian County’s potato planting area is one-third of Yulin City’s, one-fifth of Shaanxi Province’s, and one-seventieth of the nation’s, making it the largest potato-producing county in Shaanxi and ranking among the top nationally.

　　 Strong natural and geographical resource advantages, with superior product quality. Dingbian County features high altitude, cool climate, abundant sunlight, concurrent rain and heat, large diurnal temperature variations, along with vast land, deep soil layers, and loose, cultivable soil — creating an exceptionally favorable natural environment for the growth and development of potatoes, making it one of the best potato-growing regions in the country. Currently, the county has established a 2,000-mu foundation for the propagation of virus-free mini-tuber seed potatoes and a 30,000-mu base for first-grade seed potato propagation. Key promoted varieties include Purple Flower White, Favorita, Longshu 3, Atlantic, Shepody, Xin Daping, and Early White. High-quality potatoes are promoted on 600,000 mu annually. Dingbian seed potatoes degrade slowly, suffer from fewer pests and diseases, yield highly, and offer excellent quality. Dryland yields around 1,500 kg per mu, while irrigated fields can reach approximately 3,000 kg per mu. Dingbian commercial potatoes are large, round, with good gloss, free from pollution or deformities, resistant to storage and transport, with high starch content (16–23%), excellent taste for fresh consumption, and bright color for processed products — making them ideal for both fresh eating and processing. They are natural, pollution-free green foods.

　　 Broad industry coverage with strong driving impact. Currently, 282,000 people in Dingbian County are involved in potato planting, processing, and sales, forming a positive situation where nearly 280,000 farmers grow potatoes together and 45,000 farming households profit from "potato wealth." The county now has 280 specialized potato villages, 4 potato wholesale markets, and over 100 potato processing enterprises and workshops. The Shaanxi Yulin Zhiguo Rongyuan Grain and Oil Trading Co., Ltd., a municipal-level agricultural industrialization leading enterprise with an investment of 120 million yuan, is nearing full completion and has developed the "Yushu" brand series of potato processing, preservation, and packaging. Dingbian seed potatoes enjoy a high reputation in Ningxia, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Hunan, serving as an important seed potato supply base for these areas.

　　 Dingbian commercial potatoes are sold throughout 26 southern provinces and cities including Guangzhou, Wuhan, Hunan, Shandong, Shanghai, and Henan. Major processed potato products from Dingbian include starch, noodles, sheets, and vermicelli, all of which are high quality and widely favored by consumers.

　　 Dingbian County is the largest potato planting base in Shaanxi Province and one of the best potato-growing regions in the country. With a long history of potato cultivation, relatively large production scale, and excellent potato quality, it has long served as a staple dual-purpose crop for food and vegetables for the local population. In recent years, the county Party Committee and government have assessed the situation, aligned with the development requirements of modern characteristic agriculture, continuously optimized the planting layout, adjusted the variety structure, and vigorously advanced potato industry development. This has made the potato industry one of the most promising leading industries for income growth and prosperity among the people of Dingbian. Particularly, the successful hosting of the First China Dingbian Potato Culture Festival in August 2007 greatly promoted the growth of the potato industry. The county’s potato planting area has exceeded one million mu for consecutive years, with annual yields surpassing one million tons. It has been recognized as one of China’s Top Ten Potato Producing Counties, approved for geographical product indication protection by the State Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, named “Hometown of Chinese Potato Specialties” by the Ministry of Agriculture, and designated “Hometown of Chinese Potato Cuisine” by the China Cuisine Association.

　　 To further strengthen and expand Dingbian’s potato industry, enabling it to better and more rapidly extend beyond Dingbian, across the nation, and to the world, the county Party Committee and government have meticulously organized and planned to hold the Second China Dingbian Potato Culture Festival from August 27 to 29, 2009. The goal is to use the festival as a platform to expand Dingbian’s influence, enhance its visibility, make friends through the event, attract investment, enrich the people, promote potato culture, improve potato quality, open up potato markets, build a strong potato brand, and establish and showcase the positive image of “China’s Major Potato County.” During the festival, we will organize literary performances, base visits, forums and lectures, project promotions, investment attraction, folk competitions, and more, striving to make this cultural festival a grand celebration of regional culture, a gathering for trade and cooperation, and a joyful event of friendship through potatoes. We aim to make this festival a true window of openness for Dingbian, a platform for showcasing its image, a bridge for domestic and international cooperation, and a vehicle for achieving leapfrog development.

　　 Potato cultivation in Dingbian County has a history of nearly 400 years, during which a unique potato culture has formed. This culture is a brilliant fusion of Loess Plateau culture, grassland culture, and Sanbian culture, with deep historical roots and rich heritage. The grand inauguration of the “First China Dingbian Potato Culture Festival” in 2007 attracted over 1,000 domestic and international merchants and tens of thousands of local residents to taste Dingbian’s diverse and distinctive potato foods, enjoy a cultural feast, and engage in multi-level economic and technical exchanges. Through the effective form of “using culture as a stage and potatoes as the star,” the “Dingbian Potato” brand has been trumpeted to the world.

　　 The Dingbian potato industry has a long past, a vibrant present, and an even brighter future. Today, Dingbian is filled with the aroma and charm of potatoes. The China Dingbian Potato Culture Festival, along with the Dingbian potato industry, will surely bloom like a radiant flower on this hopeful land of northern Shaanxi, gaining fame across the nation and around the world. The warm, simple, and hospitable 320,000 people of Dingbian, with open arms, an outward-looking attitude, and extraordinary momentum, sincerely welcome merchants from all over the world to invest and achieve great things in Dingbian.

　　The protected geographical indication area for Dingbian Potatoes covers the entire administrative region of Dingbian County, Shaanxi Province.