The burgeoning recreational farming trend is receiving a boost from the central government.
With the bulk of Taiwan’s population residing in urban centers, agritourism is on the rise across the country as an increasing number of people seek rejuvenating outdoor experiences. The phenomenon’s expansion is due in part to the dedicated attentions of the central government. In July, the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture (COA) announced the establishment of a recreational agriculture district in Tianwei Township of central Taiwan’s Changhua County, which is one of the largest floriculture hubs in the country. According to Changhua Magistrate Wang Hui-mei (王惠美), the 296.6-hectare site is expected to bolster sustainable development of local farming communities and attract more young people to return to their hometowns. “Tianwei will progress toward an open garden plan with an eye on balancing the interests of the flower and tourism industries,” Wang said.
Woodchu Succulent Leisure Farm in northeastern Taiwan’s Yilan County displays its wide variety of drought-resistant plants. (Courtesy of Taiwan Leisure Farms Development Association)
Tianwei is the third such district in Changhua and the 104th nationwide to receive recreational agriculture designation from the COA. With more than 360 total holdings registered as leisure farms, the agricultural management model has seen an explosion in recent years, according to Yu Wen-horng (游文宏), chief secretary of Taiwan Leisure Farms Development Association (TLFDA) based in northeastern Taiwan’s Yilan County. Established in 1998, the group comprising around 200 member operators seeks to facilitate cooperation between the public and private sectors. Local governments are keen to identify new sites for development into major attractions, and many farmers are equally eager, Yu said. “Most are small-scale growers with high production costs, so they’re always on the lookout for new opportunities.”
Yilan, a pioneer of the agritourism trend, now boasts 17 recreational agriculture districts, the largest number of any municipality in the country. Its 806-hectare Jhongshan Agriculture Leisure Area, noted for its tea and pomelo farms and protected forests, became one of the first to be designated by the COA in 2001. This followed extensive revisions to the Agricultural Development Act allowing the districts to be set up on rural, urban and multizoned lands ranging from 10 to 600 hectares in size, with exceptions for larger areas granted on a case-by-case basis.
The alpine architecture of accommodation at Taomi Agricultural Leisure Area in central Taiwan’s Nantou County creates the perfect ambience for a restful retreat. (Courtesy of TLFDA)
The legislation also lowered the minimum size of individual farms from three to half a hectare, leading to a tenfold increase in the number of qualifying facilities operating countrywide over the past two decades. The changes were designed to mitigate the impact of Taiwan’s entrance to the World Trade Organization in 2002, said Yu, who is also a leading member of the farmers’ association in Yilan’s Dongshan Township. “It was a turning point for our agricultural sector to shift from focusing on production techniques to pursuing innovations in experiential products allowing urban dwellers to get a taste of the agrarian lifestyle.”
Industry Expansion
Agricultural experiences are now a leading leisure activity in suburban areas due to convenient access to the natural environment, according to Yen Chien-hsien (顏建賢), a professor in the Department of Travel Management at Jinwen University of Science and Technology in New Taipei City. “Suburban settings provide a happy medium between time-consuming trips to remote natural locations and frenetic city tours spent hopping from sight to sight,” Yen said, adding that evidence suggests time on a farm confers similar health-enhancing effects as forest bathing.
The Paper Dome in Taomi serves as a venue for community gatherings. (Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)
Yen chairs the Taiwan Leisure Agriculture Association, which brings together members from the academic, business and civil sectors. The group was founded in 2003 at Taipei City-based National Taiwan University’s Department of Agricultural Extension—today known as the Department of Bio-industry Communication and Development—where Yen obtained his doctoral degree. In 1989, the department discussed the concept of recreational agriculture in a forum co-organized with the COA, and since then the term has spread widely throughout Taiwan. Prior to the idea’s popularization, Taipei City Government made the first major public sector attempt to develop agritourism in the early 1980s with the designation of a cluster of tea farms in southeastern Taipei’s Wenshan District as a tourist zone. Today, the hilly area is home to Maokong, one of the capital’s three recreational agriculture districts.
A tour guide explains the agricultural workings of Lucky Time Leisure Farm in northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City to a group of visitors. (Courtesy of Taiwan Leisure Agriculture Association)
Also playing a leading role in the development and promotion of agritourism are local farmers’ associations, which have helped establish prominent industry players such as Shangrila Leisure Farm in Yilan’s Jhongshan area and Tsou Ma Lai Farm in the southern city of Tainan, both founded in 1988. The latter, spanning more than 100 hectares of a former cattle ranch, was transformed by Tainan City Farmers’ Association into one of the largest recreational farms in the country.
Best Practices
Running such holdings can be incredibly complex, said Yen, who often takes part in COA-organized assessment visits to leisure farms and districts. In addition to performing the usual functions of planting, harvesting and processing agricultural products, owners must run successful accommodation, food and tour guide services. Despite this, Taiwan farmers have demonstrated that they are more than up for the challenge, Yen said, adding that the country has become a leading regional force in recreational farm operation on the strength of four decades of relevant infrastructure and personnel development.
Elementary school students learn how to make scallion pancakes at Master Guan’s Leisure Farm in Yilan. (Courtesy of TLAA)
According to TLFDA’s Yu, local businesses have benefited from studying farm management in countries like Japan, France and Germany, where he and other TLFDA members have taken regular observational trips since the early 2000s. Around the same time, the group also started exploring international markets in collaboration with the COA and Tourism Bureau, initially targeting potential tourists from Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore before expanding to include China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Fields of hydrangea flowers stretch as far as the eye can see at Ching Shan Farm in southeastern Taiwan’s Taitung County. (Courtesy of TLFDA)
To help domestic and foreign visitors select destinations, TLFDA has created a certification system that now recognizes more than 170 farms around the country. Holders of certificates, to be renewed every three years, specialize in one or more of 16 categories spanning agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing and forestry. Among the possible areas of expertise are aquaculture, beekeeping, herbal medicine and cultivation of bamboo, cocoa, coffee, flowers, fruit, grains or vegetables. One such accredited holding is San-fu Leisure Farm in Yilan, which hosts flower gazing in spring and fruit picking in autumn. Visitors can also try their hand at making jam and processing tea.
Pineapple-flavored soy sauce is a popular specialty item at Ming Chuan Ecological Leisure Farm in southern Taiwan’s Pingtung County. (Courtesy of TLFDA)
“In the past, people often consumed agricultural products without much awareness of their origins,” Yen said. “Now farmers know they must engage with consumers on a deeper level.” The professor views recreational farming as a crucial component of the COA’s goal to ensure people can enjoy access not only to fresh, nutrient-dense produce but also to stimulating activities in a health-promoting environment. “Agriculture is not just about filling people’s stomachs,” Yen said. “It also offers a healing solution able to boost overall wellness of the body, mind and spirit.”
Write to Pat Gao at cjkao@mofa.gov.tw