Introduced in the country in the late 1980s, green agriculture has spread much more slowly on the island than in Europe, where the area used for this type of cultivation is expected to expand 10 to 30 percent by 2010. In Taiwan instead, according to the Agriculture and Food Agency under the Council of Agriculture, 2,013 hectares were dedicated to organic crops at the end of 2007, which represents less than 1 percent of all the nation's farmland.
"It is not that we don't want to increase organic farming, but we do face many difficulties," an AFA official said. Because local farmers make liberal use of synthetic pesticides, he explained there should be a buffer zone between an organic and a non-organic farm large enough to prevent the accidental spraying of pesticides from one field to another. Unfortunately, plots are usually too close to one another to provide such a space.
Pest control is another daunting hurdle because Taiwan's winters are not cold enough to halt the proliferation of insects. "However, we believe that through the research, development and application of new agricultural technologies, pests and diseases can be brought under control in the near future," the official explained.
According to AFA, the total area dedicated to growing organic crops on the island may not have increased significantly over the last 10 years, but its yield is much higher than in most countries.
"The real difficulty is to change farmers' thinking about this form of agriculture," the official pointed out. "Most farmers in Taiwan are not young folks anymore. It is not easy to have them accept a new concept of farm management when they have been in the business for decades. They won't switch to organic culture unless they witness successful examples."
Though the agency does not have any recent statistics regarding the growth of the market for green products in Taiwan, the official remarked that demand has been climbing steadily. Before the Agricultural Products Production and Certificate Screening Management Law came into effect in January 2007, consumers worried about the authenticity of products labeled as "organic" available on the market. "Today, however, such concern has been largely allayed because the law requires all organic products go through a stringent certification process before being sold," the official explained.
COA has collaborated with four organizations--Mokichi Okada International Association (MOA), Taiwan Formosa Organic Association, Taiwan Organic Production Association, and Tse-xin Organic Agricultural Foundation--to provide certification services to green farms. These organisms follow the standard procedures set by the council in certifying organic products, though their implementation may vary slightly. Products that have been certified bear a special logo on their packages.
MOA, one of the world's leading organic farming bodies, established its Taiwan office in 1990. Located in Taipei City, the association currently has a seven-member certification team, which carries out field investigations after farmers have applied for such services. "One of the investigators' tasks is to collect soil and water samples for testing. Fees are covered by the farmers themselves," said Kuei Chian-chi, an association officer.
By this past August, MOA endorsed 295 farms representing a total area of 1,059 hectares. Certification, however, often means an extra production cost to organic growers already struggling with the many other challenges this type of agriculture presents.
According to Liang Ming-hsien, an official at Kaohsiung County's department of agriculture, the local government fully subsidizes the cost of certification for the county's green farmers. Liang explained that most of them could not afford the fees because high production costs narrow their profit margins despite the increasing demand for organic products.
Local authorities in Kaohsiung, one of the nation's largest agricultural counties, started to encourage natural farming in 2002. "In the beginning, farmers were not interested because they feared bad harvests. A few of them, however, took the first step after the county government offered subsidies," the administration stated. "Kaohsiung has more than 100 hectares of organic farmland now and 69 hectares have passed certification."
It seems one of the major problems is to find proper marketing channels and distributors for the products. "We have been working hard to expand the market in northern Taiwan and focused on growing crops that the north cannot cultivate in winter, such as fruits, corn, melon, squash and cucumber, so that the south can supply these crops during the cold months," Liang explained.
Kuo Hui-ling, secretary of the Yilan County Organic Agricultural Association, which was set up in 2006 to help develop natural farming in the region, agreed that it is not easy to locate distributors, even though the county's total organic production is consumed domestically only.
After pointing out the association has around 40 members, Kuo noted it was important to differentiate Yilan's organic produce from those of other counties. "Yilan has been growing natural rice, tea, lotus, vegetables and fruit, but we want to commit more resources to cultivating feature crops, such as herbal teas," she added.
Nine years ago, the government-owned Taiwan Sugar Corp. started developing organic rice paddies, which have reached 120 hectares today. "TSC's advantage is that it owns large swaths of lands, which enables us to better protect our green farms from chemical pollution," said Hu Sheng-chin, coordinator of the corporation's natural resources task force.
TSC, which also grows vegetables and makes organic compost from sugarcane bagasse, is trying now to cultivate organic fruit. However, despite the corporation's ample resources and after nearly a decade, natural farming still contributes only a tiny portion to TSC's overall revenues.
To some persevering farmers, green agriculture means much more than just making money. Hung Jhih-chang, a 50-year-old coffee grower from Kaohsiung, came to Taipei to promote his natural coffee during the Asia Organic and Lohas Expo 2008 Oct. 24 to 26. Hung began working at his parents' farm as a child.
"I have always been very interested in growing coffee. Over the past 17 years, I have rented farms in 20 different places across the island to experiment cultivating organic red coffee," the farmer recalled.
Hung realized that it was not easy to find a place where both water and soil were suitable for growing coffee organically. "For many years, I could not produce the coffee that had the flavor I wanted. It is not until five years ago that I successfully grew coffee that satisfied my taste buds," he said. "Since then, the reputation of my coffee has spread, and I am not able to meet all the demand, particularly since 70 percent of the production is sold to Japan."
Recognizing Hung's expertise at growing coffee naturally, the Kaohsiung County government asked the farmer to organize and lead an organic red coffee production and marketing team in the county's Dashu Township this past January.
Although Hung started farming as a kid, he quit agriculture and left the land his parents had given him idle for several years because its soil was badly polluted due to the excessive use of pesticides and chemical compost.
Thirty years later, Hung found that the soil had significantly recovered. It is at that point that he began contemplating organic cultivation.
The farmer is conscious of the challenges this kind of agriculture presents, particularly here in Taiwan, but for him it is a matter of conscience. "When using the land, we need to protect it and love it. It is also important to provide healthy food for our consumers."
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