In order to get full use out of agricultural land, stem the movement of rural manpower to the cities, and promote a nutritious food, the Taiwan provincial department of agriculture and the Taiwan Small Grains Foundation, as well as other interested groups, have been touting the sweet potato.
台灣每年進口小麥六十萬噸，如果能以甘薯粉代替部份麵粉，製成甘薯麵食，不但可節省外匯，減少糧食對外依賴，更可提高農民種植甘薯的興趣，進而提高農民所得。民國六十九年九月，台灣區雜糧發展基金會撥出一筆經費給台大農業試驗場，研製甘薯麵食。