A plan to bring fallow land back under cultivation is expected to revitalize 45,000 hectares of farmland, create 100,000 jobs and raise overall output value NT$8.8 billion (US$303.03 million) by 2016, ROC Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji said Dec. 3.
The policy, which will encourage 160,000 landowners to lease their fields to new farmers, is designed to respond to climate change and beef up agricultural competitiveness, according to Chen. It will take effect Jan. 1.
With more land under cultivation, Taiwan’s food self-sufficiency ratio will increase to 34.9 percent, compared to 33.5 percent in 2011, he noted.
When the plan gets under way, subsidies for fallow land will only be paid for the first season each year, and owners will be encouraged to lease the land to others in the second season, for a subsidy of NT$2,000 per hectare per month, for up to 3 hectares.
Together with rent of NT$20,000 to NT$30,000 for the land, the subsidy will prevent older farmers’ income from falling. The COA also announced a two-year grace period in which the fallow land subsidy of NT$20,000 per hectare will still be paid in the second season if fields cannot be leased out.
Landowners need only register their land with the local farmers’ association farmland bank, which will draw up the lease, thus relieving concerns that the land could be stripped of its topsoil, used as a dumping ground or even lost to the title-holder.
The system will make it convenient for new farmers to lease land without having to already know the owner. They can also qualify for financial support of NT$24,000 to NT$45,000 per hectare if they plant import substitution crops, crops with high economic potential or local specialties, which all have the advantage of high purchase and market prices. (THN)