Potatoes [File photo]

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.

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.