Taiwan must employ innovation and create a new value chain to accelerate transformation of its agricultural industry, Premier Jiang Yi-huah said today at an Executive Yuan political affairs meeting.
After hearing the Council of Agriculture's (COA) report on the achievements of the Quality Agriculture Development Program (QADP), Jiang said a sustainable agricultural industry is critical to people's livelihoods and the national economy. The government should not only continue promoting quality agriculture but also carve out a robust, highly competitive field that attracts more young people, provides stable income for farmers, and promotes health and sustainability.
Among the innovative ideas proposed recently is the establishment of value-adding centers for agricultural products in free economic pilot zones (FEPZs), indicated Premier Jiang. This will create an excellent operating environment where companies have access to raw materials that are competitive in price, quantity and quality. Apart from simplifying administrative procedures, the centers will also promote advanced processing technologies that add greater value to agricultural goods.
"As the value-adding centers thrive, they will spur greater demand for Taiwan's raw materials, creating a win-win situation for domestic suppliers as well as agribusinesses inside the zones," said the premier. This new business model will help companies tap into international markets and create favorable conditions for Taiwan's entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Jiang requested the COA to work closely with the agricultural sector toward these ends.
To meet the industry's diverse needs, the COA has expanded the concept of the agricultural value chain, tending to resource input as well as economic output. For instance, appropriate measures have been taken to protect quality farmland and adjust the way land is used and managed.
The COA is now implementing an agricultural "golden corridor" program to address soil subsidence problems along the high-speed rail where land is sinking due to excessive draining of underground water. From 2013 to 2020, a total of NT$3.4 billion (US$114.5 million) will be invested to promote water and energy conservation within 3 kilometers of areas experiencing severe subsidence, starting in Yunlin and Changhua counties. This is an example where a flexible administrative policy is in place to boost agricultural businesses along the corridor while making more efficient use of land, water and human resources.
According to the COA, the QADP in its final year of 2012 recorded production value of NT$134.5 billion (US$4.5 billion), representing growths of 8.5 and 44 percent compared with 2011 and 2008, respectively. The program employed 60,000 workers and invested NT$11.3 billion (US$378.3 million) over its four-year span.
Major initiatives from the QADP have been incorporated into the agricultural component of the Golden Decade National Vision plan and will continue under the agricultural administrative plan. As examples, a program to internationalize agritourism is expected to attract over 34 million visitors to farming, fishing and forest recreational areas in 2014; the program's projected NT$16.8 billion (US$562.4 million) production value would represent growth of 34 percent over 2008, prior to the QADP's implementation. Also, farmland certified for organic cultivation is expected to reach 6,000 hectares by 2015; the production value is projected to reach NT$3.6 (US$120.5 million), an increase of 160 percent compared with 2008.
In response to increasingly liberalized trade around the world, the COA has formulated major policies to restructure and enhance the competitiveness of Taiwan's agricultural industry. Depending on the progress of trade negotiations with other countries, response measures will be adjusted to minimize impacts on the domestic industry after Taiwan joins the TPP or signs free trade agreements with trade partners. The COA will work diligently to transform the agricultural industry into one of value-chain innovation and expand export markets around the globe.