The future of Taiwan's agricultural sector lies in innovative transformation and a sustainable environment, Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Bao-ji said this evening while appearing as a guest on the Executive Yuan's "Open Mic" YouTube channel.
"From farmland to the dinner table, agriculture should focus on not only production but also sustainability," Chen told Executive Yuan Spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun and online viewers. "This is why the government is promoting eco-friendly farming practices that have successfully helped farmers use less fertilizer while boosting crop production."
The COA is also pushing a rural rejuvenation program that works in conjunction with local specialty businesses. Aside from improving the environment, the program is applying a "six-level" industrialization concept to add greater value to agricultural products for leisure farming, local production and local consumption.
In addition, the government has regenerated a large percentage of fallow farmland over the past three years, saving expenditures on subsidies, restoring the land's utility value, and creating 10,000 jobs.
Looking ahead for the agricultural sector, Minister Chen said the COA plans to commercialize Taiwan's world-class agricultural technologies and add value to products by linking with other sectors. The goal is to turn agricultural investment into businesses, make technologies commercially viable, target global markets, and promote value-added industries such as ornamental aquaculture, orchid cultivation and protected agriculture.¬
During the brodcast, one viewer asked whether farmers' interests would be restricted by the government's clampdown of illegally built farmhouses and by recent regulatory amendments. Minister Chen replied that the government has been looking into this issue for some time and finding that many farmhouses are being used to manipulate land value and land utility, which also harms the production environment and endangers agricultural development. Stressing the need to change laws, Chen assured viewers that such amendments will not affect farmers' interests and that farmhouses can be passed on to second generations of farmers.
Another viewer mentioned concerns over the dwindling agricultural workforce, and Chen pointed out that young people have lost interest in farming due to the long-term decline of agricultural prices in Taiwan. To encourage youths to return to the countryside, the COA has applied innovative ideas such as mechanized farming and protected agriculture techniques to make profits more reasonable. Following years of government guidance, the number of young people taking up farming has increased, and the value of agricultural products has risen noticeably.
The agriculture minister also described a program launched by the COA in 2013 to help 100 young people get started in the farm business. Experienced farmers were brought in to tutor and nurture their agricultural skills for two years, after which the young farmers receive help renting land under the COA's "Small Landlords, Big Tenant Farmers" program.
For other aspiring farmers seeking land, Chen suggested they look through farmers' associations and the COA's e-Farmland Bank website, both of which can help novice farmers rent or buy farmland at reasonable prices. The e-Farmland Bank offers loans of NT$5 million (US$163,000) interest-free for the first three years with the repayment period extended from 10 to 20 years. These measures help reduce the financial burden on young farmers as they set off their career.
Finally, Minister Chen called on all citizens to support Taiwan's agriculture, which he said would never be a sunset industry. In earlier times, agricultural activities such as pork exports and banana crops played vital roles in the nation's economy, and Taiwan will continue developing a better, higher-quality farming industry in the future.
The entire broadcast of this evening's program is available for viewing on the Executive Yuan's YouTube channel at https://goo.gl/Wps8HK.