Yunnan Normal University to set up Potato Research Institute and it is no joke

Yunnan Normal University's plan to set up a Potato Research Institute to strengthen talent development and promote scientific research has sparked a humorous uproar on the Internet.

Following the announcement, Chinese microblogs erupted with sarcastic and often humorous posts, reports gokunming.com:
 

The story of a dedicated potato institute first broke when an anonymous YNU staff member posted an internally circulated list of upcoming school priorities.

Number six on the list, "establish a potato academy" (设立马铃薯学院). Netizens immediately took to internet forums and social media, mostly to express ironic support.

It is about time, they argued, for a learning center to finally encourage the rigorous study of local delicacies such as 'grandma potatoes', potato cakes and mashed potatoes with pickled vegetables.

Others expressed great relief that members of the tuber family would at last be allowed to attend university and receive advanced degrees.

However, the envisioned institute is of serious importance to the Chinese government. Early in 2015, Beijing announced it would vigorously promote potatoes as a fourth staple of the national diet, behind rice, wheat and corn

Throughout the past several generations, experts at Yunnan Normal University have made great progress in potato research, authorities said.

The establishment of the Potato Research Institute is in line with the national development strategies of positioning the potato as a staple food, and is also in accordance with Yunnan's development plan for a green economy, food safety, and plateau agriculture.

The university has promised to promote the project and set up a leading group and committee of experts as soon as possible.

It has set up a virus-free potato seed repository, with more than 1,200 germ plasma cultivated in China and abroad. It's one of the largest in China in terms of potato genetic diversity.