In March, 66-year-old agriculture expert Lee Ching-shui (李清水) returned to Taiwan after a four-month assignment in Indonesia. He had been studying ways to grow healthier potatoes as part of a program proposed by Hasanuddin University in Makassar, South Sulawesi province, in collaboration with the Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Indonesia.
The project in the archipelago nation felt familiar to Lee, who has been working for Taiwan’s international development projects in partner countries since 2001. He was chief of Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM) operations in Indonesia and Paraguay run by the Taipei City-based International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) and currently serves as a consultative committee member for the nation’s foremost foreign aid organization.
Before working for TaiwanICDF, Lee taught agriculture courses at today’s National Chiayi University in southern Taiwan for 30 years and retired in 2001 as an associate professor. “It had been my aspiration to promote modern agricultural techniques overseas and to fully utilize my knowledge, skills and experience,” he said. “Joining the mission made my dream come true.”
Workers in Paraguay learn how to grow orchids through a TaiwanICDF training program.
TaiwanICDF carries out a variety of projects on behalf of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and also administers its own independently funded technical assistance programs. In consultation with the MOFA, the agency operates around 70 projects in realms such as agriculture, environmental protection, health care and information and communications technology, as well as vocational training in 29 countries across Africa, the Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, Central and South America and the Middle East. Twenty-one of these nations are diplomatic allies of the ROC.
Lee Pai-po (李栢浡), deputy secretary-general of TaiwanICDF, explained that ROC foreign aid programs began in 1959 with an agricultural mission in Vietnam. Operations expanded in the 1960s when technical teams were sent to several newly independent African countries to help improve crop production. Since then, the scope of assistance has been extended to include animal husbandry, aquaculture and horticulture.
In recipient countries where locals now meet their own agricultural needs, TaiwanICDF has shifted its focus to agribusiness and expanded services to include food processing, logistics and marketing, as well as upgrading the quality and quantity of produce.
“To increase the effectiveness of foreign aid, our organization is taking a project-based approach,” Lee Pai-po said. “This means identifying viable endeavors and communicating with our partners to make sure our efforts are geared toward their needs.” The agency has formulated key performance indicators to assess project outcomes and impacts. Those that do not produce good results are shut down, and effective programs are shifted to local control.
“Our cooperative projects emphasize capacity building through technology transfer. That is, local farmers are asked to play an active role in cultivating new crops themselves, while Taiwan experts act as consultants and provide technical know-how,” Lee Pai-po said. “This kind of practice is crucial to ensuring sustainable development of local agriculture.”
Farmers in the Dominican Republic harvest sweet potatoes.
Seeds of Collaboration
Many TaiwanICDF-managed programs have proven successful. In the Dominican Republic, for example, where the technical mission has assisted in the development of rice production since the mid-1960s, a large number of the rice paddies are planted with varieties developed by Taiwan experts, such as the high-yield Juma 57 and 58. Today, the nation is not only self-sufficient in rice production, but also exports the product.
Another example of success, the TaiwanICDF official said, is in Honduras, where the TTM introduced tilapia breeding techniques in the mid-1970s. Over the years, the Central American nation has become one of the world’s leading suppliers of the fish, with tilapia fillets being its fourth largest export item, behind coffee, bananas and sugarcane.
Lee Ching-shui can attest to how Taiwan’s mission experts have worked to promote growth and reduce poverty in partner nations. He completed his first assignment in Paraguay, the ROC’s sole diplomatic ally in South America, between 2001 and 2005. Specializing in agribusiness and horticulture, Lee and others taught local farmers to grow ornamental plants such as chrysanthemums, orchids and roses, as well as develop marketing channels through the establishment of distribution centers. These efforts paved the way for the development of Paraguay’s thriving cut-flower industry.
After his stint in South America, the agriculture technician was transferred to Indonesia where he helped push forward an agribusiness project in the city of Bogor, West Java. “Before that time, several projects had been implemented simultaneously, but I thought it would be better to concentrate our resources on a few key priorities rather than spreading thin our investments,” he said. Priority was given to working with small-scale farmers, who faced slim margins due to the involvement of middlemen.
Tilapia are farmed in Honduras using breeding techniques introduced by Taiwan experts in the mid-1970s.
In 2007, Lee Ching-shui and his team collaborated with the Bogor Agriculture Institute (IPB) to set up the Agribusiness Development Center (ADC). Local farmers were taught standard operating procedures to improve their crop quality and yields, and later succeeded in selling their products to supermarkets in Bogor and the capital city Jakarta. The ADC was handed over to the IPB in 2014.
“Despite the absence of diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Indonesia, the TTM operating there since 1976 has been warmly appreciated and helped enhance substantive bilateral relations,” the technician said. “Empowering local farmers with skills to improve their productivity and livelihoods gives me a great sense of achievement.”
Next Generation of Aid
Tony Lin (林雋軼) graduated from National Taiwan University in Taipei with a doctorate in plant pathology and microbiology. Like Lee Ching-shui, he aspired to take part in one of Taiwan’s overseas technical missions so he could share his expertise while immersing himself in different cultures. “I’d heard many positive comments from a senior classmate who was once posted to Nicaragua in Central America and from my teacher, who is involved with TaiwanICDF,” the 31-year-old said. “I couldn’t wait to get involved with the programs.” Right after his graduation in July last year, Lin found a position with the Taiwan Youth Overseas Service and was sent to serve in Fiji in the South Pacific.
Since 2001, the MOFA has tasked TaiwanICDF with overseeing the youth overseas service program. In Taiwan, all young men must perform national service. While most serve in the military, some have the option to assist Taiwan’s technical and medical missions. As of 2016, about 1,260 young men have opted for such alternative service.
A woman in St. Vincent and the Grenadines displays the fruits of her labor.
Participants are assigned to overseas projects based on their educational backgrounds and skills; the needs of the ROC’s foreign aid missions; and a lottery. Before departing, they need to complete six weeks of intensive training in languages, customs, protocol and other relevant subjects at a center in Taipei run by TaiwanICDF.
During his stay in Fiji from November last year to August this year, Lin joined the TTM’s Vegetable Production, Marketing Extension and Capacity Building Project in the Nadarivatu highlands. The project was launched in line with the South Pacific nation’s 2020 Agriculture Sector Policy Agenda.
Lin and another specialist instructed participants to grow crops suitable to local weather and soil conditions such as cabbage, lettuce, passion fruit and sweet corn using cultivars from Taiwan. This would allow them to increase their own vegetable intake and profit from the sale of their produce.
“Seeing locals acquire new skills and make steady progress harvesting their crops gave me immense joy,” he said. “On another front, though living in poor conditions, their smiling faces and optimism inspired me.” The 10-month experience, he added, broadened his horizons and made him a more independent and responsible person.
Lin would encourage other young people to sign up for such opportunities. “International development projects are meaningful tasks and I hope to pursue a career with TaiwanICDF or other international aid organizations,” he said. “It’s an amazing job that combines work and travel.”
A Nicaraguan farmer attends to a piglet with loving care.
Similarly, Lee Pai-po said the youth overseas service allows participants to put their knowledge into practice and learn a foreign language, among other skills. About 10 percent of those who participate in the service later become staff members of his agency, working with technical missions or on other special projects.
The bulk of Taiwan’s foreign assistance is still directed toward promoting agriculture as the sector remains the economic backbone of most of its partner countries, the deputy secretary-general said. “Conventional farming can no longer address current critical issues related to climate change and food security,” he noted. “Taiwan’s advanced agricultural technologies help developing countries deal with those challenges. Such operations also raise Taiwan’s profile and visibility on the global stage.”
Write to Kelly Her at kher@mofa.gov.tw
PHOTOS BY CHIN HUNG-HAO AND COURTESY OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT FUND