agriculture sector.
For one night every other year, the brightest minds and rising stars of Taiwan’s agriculture sector come together to celebrate the biggest success stories of the past 24 months at the Shennong Award ceremony. Since 1983 the event has honored farmers specializing in a wide variety of produce, ranging from organic rice to duck eggs, and has played host to leaders from across the political spectrum looking to lay out their vision for the country’s agricultural development.
A rice farmer checks on his crop in New Taipei City. (Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)
Safety Net
High on the priority list for the government is supporting farmers through the adoption of various insurance policies. According to the COA, extreme weather events have grown in severity and frequency over the past 15 years, causing losses averaging NT$12.4 billion (US$443 million) per year in the agriculture sector. In 2015 the COA implemented a pilot plan that enabled farmers to obtain insurance against natural disasters. With the passing of the Agricultural Insurance Act last year, farmers can now also insure losses caused by diseases and pests. The new law provides for the government to subsidize up to half of the premiums paid by farmers to insurers.
“Having financial protection is a key step toward securing the interests of local farmers given the growing threat of extreme weather,” Lin said, adding that the NFA is working with 301 farmers’ associations across the country to encourage a high adoption rate for the new measures. To date, rice, 14 varieties of fruit and the four most common types of fish raised in local aquaculture can be insured. Poultry farmers are also able to obtain compensation for losses caused by the culling of insured fowl infected with bird flu, incentivizing the reporting of potential cases.
Another focus of the NAIPP is setting a framework for rigorous agricultural inspection and quarantine measures, a necessary precaution as farmers around the world see their livelihoods threatened by infectious diseases. In 1997, an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) led many countries to ban imports of Taiwan pork, shutting down 5,000 piggeries around the country and costing the economy an estimated NT$170 billion (US$5.7 billion). Although vaccinations and close monitoring of local hogs enabled the country to finally regain FMD-free status from Paris-headquartered World Organization for Animal Health in June 2020, the government is determined to never again allow such a situation to develop.
Greenhouses in Tainan provide a favorable environment for the development of organic farming. (Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)
Leveling Up
Having implemented stringent safeguards that provide farmers with insurance in times of need, the government is paying equal attention to improving local production methods to ensure Taiwan-produced goods remain competitive. One example is the drive to increase adoption of organic and eco-friendly farming practices, respectively referring to zero and limited use of chemical agents. According to COA statistics, 16,509 hectares of farmland were cultivated in such manners by June 2021, up from 6,784 hectares at the end of 2016.
To achieve this, the COA has provided a variety of financial incentives. Currently, the government subsidizes 90 percent of annual organic certification fees, reducing the burden on farmers who choose to go chemical-free. Farmers are also entitled to an annual grant of up to NT$80,000 (US$2,857) for every hectare of farmland cultivated organically. Purchases of microbial fertilizer and biological pest control products can be subsidized too.
Government largesse does not end there. A COA project launched in 2017 now subsidizes half the cost of building greenhouse facilities, which are vital given the risks posed to crops by typhoons. “It’s not easy to practice organic agriculture in Taiwan since most farmers only cultivate small, closely packed tracts of land. This can cause organic crops to be affected by chemicals used by neighboring farmers,” said Yu Cheng-chuan (余振全), a fruit farmer in northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu County. “Greenhouses help resolve this issue.”
The COA is ensuring that domestic demand for organic produce grows to match the increased production levels, including dedicated organic sections in hypermarkets and regular organic farmers’ markets around the country. It is also working with local governments to connect farmers with elementary schools. Over 1.4 million pupils now eat school-provided lunches using locally grown organic ingredients.
Most of the fruit produced on Yu Cheng-chuan’s tangerine orchard in Hsinchu County, northern Taiwan, is sold online. (Courtesy of Yu Cheng-chuan)
Cultivating an awareness among Taiwan’s next generation about the importance of the agriculture industry is part of an overall government strategy looking to attract young people into the sector. To date, the COA has offered 589 talented youngsters interest-free loans, one-on-one mentoring from agricultural experts as well as marketing assistance to get their businesses off the ground. In addition, under COA guidance, a network of 17 city- and county-based youth farmers’ fellowships has been established to facilitate experience exchanges and resource sharing within the community. “Previously farmers had little contact with other people in the profession outside of their local area, but the network has greatly boosted interactions countrywide, enabling young farmers to learn from their peers regarding new business models or cultivation techniques,” said Yu, who is also president of Hsinchu County Youth Farmers’ Fellowship.
Formerly a quality control inspector in the industrial manufacturing sector and now the inheritor of a tangerine orchard from his father, Yu has undergone a change of attitude toward life as a farmer. “Having witnessed the years of hard graft my father put in, I was quite hesitant to follow in his footsteps,” Yu said. His aversion gradually gave way to admiration, however, as he assisted his father in running the orchard using new strategies made possible by the leveling up of Taiwan’s agriculture sector. “I helped my father shift toward a direct transaction model via the internet. Selling products without the middleman helped to generate more profit and develop a recognizable brand for our fruit,” he said.
A veteran farmer, squatting, shares his professional expertise with a new recruit in central Taiwan’s Taichung City. (Photo by Chen Mei-ling)
Working alongside his father sparked a hidden passion within Yu, who decided to leave his job to work full-time as a farmer. Last year he opened a brick-and-mortar shop in Hsinchu selling fruit from the farm as well as other organic and eco-friendly agricultural products from around Taiwan. “I used to work long, inflexible hours in a sterile office, but now I get to set my own schedule working outdoors.” And Yu is far from the only young person to make the switch; when he joined the Hsinchu fellowship in 2015, the organization’s membership was about 100, but it is now almost four times that.
With continued government support and a growing community of young farmers, the future for Taiwan’s agriculture industry is looking bright. “The older generation laid a solid foundation for the newcomers to build on,” NFA’s Lin said. “Now that we have the NAIPP focused on rejuvenating and upgrading the sector, it’s an exciting time to be a farmer in Taiwan.”
Write to Oscar Chung at mhchung@mofa.gov.tw