Comprehensive Agricultural Policies of Taiwan Hwang-Jaw Lee, PhD  

Agriculture in Taiwan Taiwan is located in the subtropics mountains and rugged hills cover two-thirds of the land, so only about 830,000 hectares of land are suitable for agriculture. The average farm covers 1.1 hectares, thus the agricultural sector is largely composed of small farms. However, Taiwan is working to develop its agriculture by introducing advanced technologies and modern equipment. Taiwan’s agricultural products are very diverse, and output is high. The agricultural sector, moreover, is precisely what laid the solid foundation for the soaring economic growth that Taiwan has enjoyed in recent decades. Agriculture plays an extremely important role in providing food, supporting rural development, and contributing to environmental conservation.

1.1 Agricultural GDP I n t h e pas t f o ur d ec ades , f r o m t he ra p i d ec o n om i c dev el o pm e nt, t he G DP (Gross Domest ic Produc tion) of Taiwan has gro wn s i gni fic antly. Comparing al l indus t ries, s ervic e indus t ry has t he hi ghest c ont ri bution to t he ov erall GDP d ue t o i ts f as t g r o wt h, whi l e t h e agr i c ul t u re i n dus tr y ’s c on t r i but i on has d ec l i n ed f or s ev er al dec ad es n ow. F ro m 1 9 81 t o 2001, t h e G DP c on t r i b ut i on dec l i ned f rom 7. 33% to 1. 90%; in t he past dec ade, t he G DP c ont ribut i on ha s b ee n m a i n tai ne d b et we e n 1 . 6% a n d 1. 8%. Tab l e 1 s hows t he G DP c on t r i b ut i on f o r t h e past 4 d ec a d es.

Ta b l e 1 .

A g r i c u l t u r a l G D P a n d i ts s h a r e Unit: Billion NT$

Categories Nati o nal GDP (A) A g r ic u ltu r a l G DP ( B ) % (B/A)

1981

1991

2001

2011

1 , 8 11

4,958

9,930

13,745

133

182

189

241

7.33

3.68

1.90

1.75

S o u r c e : D i r e c t o r a t e - G e n e r a l o f B u d g e t , A c c o u n t i n g a n d Sta t i s t i c s ( D G B A S ) , E x e c u t i v e Yu a n , R O C ( R e p u b l i c o f C h i n a )

1.2 Agricultural population T he popul at ion of Tai wan ov er t he past f our dec ades has grown 27%, f rom 1 8 m i l l i o n i n 19 8 1 t o 2 3 m i l l i o n i n 2 011. T he agri c ul t ura l p op ul a t i on has 1  

dec reas ed f rom 5 m il li on t o 2. 9 m ill ion, a 42% dec line. T he s hare of a gr i c ul t ural popul at i o n r el a t i v e t o t h e o v eral l popul a t i o n has d e c l i n ed f rom 28% t o 13%. S ee Tabl e 2 f or detai l s.

Ta b l e 2 . A g r i c u l t u r a l p o p u l a t i o n a n d i ts s h a r e Unit:1000 persons

Categ o ri es

1981

1991

2001

2011

18,136

20,557

22,340

23,055

Ag ri cul tu ral po pul atio n (B)

5,101

4,206

3,783

2,962

% (B/ A)

28.13

20.46

16.93

12.85

To tal po pul ati on (A)

S o u r c e : M i n i s t r y o f I n t e r i o r ; D G B A S ; A g r i c u l t u r e a n d F o o d A g e n c y, C O A , E x e c u t i v e Yu a n , R O C

Wi t h t he f ast urbani z at i on, young genera t i on s of f a r m i ng c om m u n it i e s h av e m o v ed t o t he c i t i es a nd hav e b ee n e m pl o y ed by o t her i nd us t r i es, an d t he l a b o r s t ruc t u r e has a l s o b ee n aff ec t e d by a n agi ng p op u l a t i on . A m o ng t he 1. 1 m i l l i o n agr i c ul t u ra l p op ul a t i on d ur i ng 1991, 15~34 age group: 22.3% , 35~ 64 a ge g ro u p : 7 2. 8% , and t he ov e r 65 age gro u p: 4. 9%; by 2 011, t he p op ul a t i on h as d ec li n ed t o h a lf mil l i on , t h e 15~ 34 age g r oup: 1 0. 2% , t he 3 5~64 a ge gro up : 72. 7% and t he ov er 65 age grou p was 17. 1% (S ee Tabl e 3 f or details ). T he agri c ult ural gro wt h has been hi nder ed by t he dec lini ng of agric ult ural p op ul a t i on and t h e agi ng p op ul a t i on. I nt er v e nt i o n m us t t ak e p l ace t o ens u re a gr i c ul t ure prod u c t i v it y a nd f ut u re i n dus t r y g ro wt h .

Ta b l e 3 . A g r i c u l t u r a l e m p l o ym e n t n u m b e r b y a g e g r o u p Unit: 1000 persons, %

Categories To tal

1991

1996

2001

2006

2011

1,093

918

708

555

542

Age Group (old years) 15 ~ 34

22.3

17.7

13.9

9.7

10.2

35 ~ 64

72.8

74.8

75.3

74.0

72.7

O ve r 6 5

4.9

7.5

10.8

16.3

17.1

S o u r c e : D G B A S , E x e c u t i v e Yu a n , R O C

1.3 Farm household and size Look i ng at t he f arm hous eholds ov er a f our-year s pan, t hroug h act iv e prom ot ion, t he num ber of f arm hous ehol ds has i nc reased duri ng 2010 f rom a three-year dec reas i ng trend. The number of full time f arm households has 2  

i n c re a s ed b y 2 . 3% bet wee n 2 0 0 9 and 2 0 1 0. D ue t o urb an i z at i o n, t h e t otal hectarage of c ultiv ated fiel ds has been dec l ining st eadily. The av erage hectarage of f arm hous ehol ds has been cons ist ent at around 1. 1 hectares. T he num ber of f arm hous ehol ds wi t h ov er t hree hec tares c ultiv at ed f i el ds ha s dec l i ned. The detail ed data of f arm i ng househol d and f arm siz e is l ist ed i n Tabl e 4.

Ta b l e 4 . C u l t i v a t e d f i e l d s , n u m b e r o f f a r m h o u s e h o l d a n d f a r m s i z e

Categories

2007

2008

2009

2010

Cul ti vat ed fi el ds (h a) (A)

825,947

823,364

815,462

813,126

No. o f househ o l d s (B)

751,338

748,276

744,147

776,725

Ful l -ti m e ( %)

21.5

21.7

21.9

24.2

P ar t-tim e ( %)

78.5

78.3

78.1

75.8

1.099

1.100

1.096

1.047

2.90

3.47

3.66

2.35

Aver age farm siz e (ha) (A/B) F ar m siz e o ve r 3 . 0 h a ( %)

S o u r c e : D G B A S ； A g r i c u l t u r e a n d F o o d A g e n c y, C O A . E x e c u t i v e Yu a n

1.4 Agricultural production and composition Table 5 s ho ws t he v alue and c om pos it i on of agri c ult ural produc t ion. I n t he past four dec ades , bas ed on the c urrent pric, t he t otal agri c ult ural product i on h as i nc re a s ed t o a bo ut d o ub le , f r o m N T $ 23 8 b i ll i o n t o N T $475 bi l l io n . T he sc ale of c ompos ition change has been minor. The major c hanges in 2011 were inc reas e of liv estock produc tion and dec reas e of forestry act iv ities.

Ta b l e 5 . A g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n v a l u e s a n d c o m p o s i t i o n s

C om p osi ti o n s ( %)

To tal Values Year

(million NT$)

C r o ps

F o r es t r y

F i s h er y

L i ve s t o ck

1981

238,467

46.23

1.95

2 1 . 11

30.71

1991

323,336

45.69

0.40

25.83

28.07

2001

352,690

45.58

0.17

25.55

28.70

2011

475,476

44.17

0.08

22.27

33.48

S o u r c e : C O A , E x e c u t i v e Yu a n , R O C

1.5 Agricultural products

3  

T he m aj or c hanges of agri c ult ural products ov er t he past f our dec ades we re: r ed uc ti o n o f r i c e a nd c o a rs e grai n s ; and i nc re as e in t he p r oduc t io n of fruits and v egetables. Thes e c hanges hav e been a reflection of market demand an d c ompetition whic h occ urred internally and externally. Table 6 s h o ws t he d et ai l ed c om po s i t i on o f a gr i c ul t ural p r oducts.

Ta b l e 6 . Va l u e s o f c r o p s p r o d u c t i o n a n d t h e i r c o m p o s i t i o n s Unit: Million NT$; %

Composi tion ( %) To tal Year

Val ues

/a

Coar se

Sp eci al

Veg eta

Ri ce

g r ai n

cr o ps

F r ui ts

bl es

Oth er s

1981

11 0 , 2 3 5

42.1

7.8

12.3

15.9

21.3

0.8

1991

147,735

26.2

8.8

9.6

30.5

22.2

2,7

2001

160,759

20.4

4.6

6.7

36.2

24.8

7.3

2011

210,012

18.2

4.3

5.8

35.4

28.8

7.5

/a

values based upon current price S o u r c e : C O A , E x e c u t i v e Yu a n , R O C

1.6 Farm household income Tab l e 7 s ho ws t h e i nc om e f o r bot h f a r m a nd non-f a r m ho u s ehol d s . T he farm

house ho l ds

i nc om e

ov e r

t he

pas t

f ou r

d e c ades

h as

inc reas ed

s i gnific ant ly in c urrent pric e. The f arm hous ehol d inc ome of 2010 has i n c re a s ed by 2 60 % ; t he i n c reas e o f n on -f ar m hous e ho l d i n c om e was b el o w t he f arm hous ehol ds . T he per c apital i nc om e held t he s am e t rend; t he per c apita o f f a r m h o us ehol ds h as i nc reas ed by 4 70 % whi l e t h e n on - f ar m hous ehol d s has i nc reas ed by 410% . The av erage act ual agri c ult ural i nc om e for f arm hous ehol ds was onl y arou nd 22% , t he ot her 78% of t he f arm hous ehol ds inc ome c am e f rom non- agri c ulture s ect ors inc l uding s ec ondary bus ines s s alary, net business rev enues , propert y inc ome and transfer inc ome, etc. If the s ec ondary bus i ness prov ides better inc ome, t hen it is predic table that more farmers wi l l a ba n d o n t he i r p r i m a r y bus i nes s es i n order t o i m prov e t he i r i n c om e . T he i nc ome of f arm hous ehol ds has i nc reas ed dec ade by dec ade and t o s ustain the growth, diligent efforts must be planned and exec ut ed acc ordingly.

4  

Ta b l e 7 . I n c o m e o f f a r m a n d n o n - f a r m h o u s e h o l d Unit: NT$

Year/categories

1981

1991

2001

2010

F a rm e r s (A)

244,424

572,269

881,298

884,547

No n -farm er s (B)

318,808

736,750

1,136,274

1,142,343

76.7

77.7

77.6

77.4

64,457

122,360

163,158

193,133

26.4

21.4

18.5

21.8

F a rm e r s (E )

43,882

124,136

224,249

248,468

No n -farm er s (F )

69,761

180,576

320,981

353,667

62.9

68.7

659.9

70.3

P er Ho u seh ol d i n com e

a

% (A/ B) So ur ces of i n com e Agricultural income (D) % (D/ A) P e r c api ta in com e

% (E / F )

/a income values based upon current prices S o u r c e : D G B A S , E x e c u t i v e Yu a n

Agricultural development in Taiwan has taken a unique path. In the early years, the government carried out land reform to provide “land to the tiller,” and then made policy adjustments as agriculture progressed, seeking at first to spur greater productivity, and then to develop exports of both raw and processed agricultural goods. These developments, in turn ushered in an era of rapid economic growth. Taiwan’s success in the development of small-scale agriculture had become a model for developing economies worldwide.

The core principles of “healthfulness, efficiency, and sustainability” form the backbone of Taiwan’s agricultural policies. Taiwan will make the best of technologies and its geographical location for the benefit of farmers, consumers, the environment, future generations, and the earth. Rooted in the present and looking into the future, we seek to build a modern agricultural sector with a strong global presence.

5  

Background of current agricultural policy Agriculture is a biological industry, and an important business to support people’s livelihood; its development is not only limited by nature, but also influenced by the change of social environment, as well as trends of economic and trade system. In the past decades, the following multiple factors created an impact on Taiwan’s agriculture developments. 

Highly liberalized economy with rapid regional economic integration;



Fast advancement of key agricultural and related technologies, leveraging high tech for agriculture has become a trend;



Frequent weather related disasters which threatens agricultural productivity;



Increased focus on food quality and safety;



Declined agricultural human resource due to urbanization.

Facing the challenges of new environment, leverage industry value chain to expand the breadth and depth of agriculture to replace the traditional thoughts of production-oriented agriculture becomes critical. To ensure a healthy, efficient and sustainable agriculture for all citizens, it is important to develop a holistic plan and connect the plan with human, earth, water, and industry when implementing agriculture policies. Goals of agriculture for all citizens are: 

Farmers – profits, efficiency and welfare.



Consumers – freshness, quality, safety and healthy.



Environment – landscape, energy-saving, sustainability.



Citizens of the World – clean environment, harmony and green energy.

Based on the ‘Healthy, Efficient, and Sustainability’ agricultural concept, several initiatives have been outlined and executed over the past few years, such as: 

In 2009, plans to support ”Superior delicate agriculture – Healthy and Excellent Program” has been established. ( 精緻農業健康卓越方案 )



June 2010, Conference was called to address agricultural adjustments for climate change.



August 2010, “Rural Regeneration Act” ( 農村再生條例 ) was promulgated.



January 2011, a conference was conducted to address overall agriculture and land usage. The goals were to establish long term recognition of agricultural policies, plan to set up farmers’ academy, and phased implementation plan to adjust agriculture structure and rural rejuvenation.



In 2012, a program titled “Golden Decade-LOHAS Agriculture” was carried on. ( 黃金十年 - LOHAS 農業 ). 6

 

Mission Agriculture is the foundation of the development of a country. To ensure a sustainable development of agriculture, the focus needs to be diverse on several areas: food security; eco-system; landscape; culture; and shaping LOHAS (Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability) agriculture, guiding agricultural policies and programs towards to the acceleration of agriculture structural adjustments; raising the industry’s

competitiveness

and

leading

the

internationalization

of

Taiwan’s

agriculture; revitalizing the use of agricultural resources; and ensuring sustainable development.

To enable Taiwan’s agriculture to become a localized life industry and a global green-gold industry, agriculture administration needs to drive the structural improvement, scalability and human resources. These changes will enable the competitiveness of Taiwan’s agriculture. The changes can be driven by two major categories: A. Policy driven 

Creating and deploying new agricultural policies which work for the environment we are facing and for the future.



Creating initiatives or programs to enable and promote agriculture.

B. Agriculture industry 

Combining primary, secondary and tertiary industries.



Encouraging cross-industries cooperation to revitalize resource utilization.



Establishing value chain of agriculture.



Promoting the internationalization of recreational agriculture.



Connecting with international standards with domestic safety certification of agriculture products.



Create business opportunities and values by fully leveraging ICT and green technology.



Building new development environment.



Expanding export of innovative outputs in agricultural Science & Technology.



Migrating agriculture from the existing legacy operation to green eco-industry and becoming service oriented.

7  

Policy implementation of LOHAS agriculture Facing the challenging subjects, the effort to accelerate the structural change of industry, create better agriculture environment, improve operational efficiency, attract younger work force, revitalize utilization of resources and promote sustainable agriculture, becomes a must. In the initiative of LOHAS, it recognizes that to drive the required industrial focused changes, agriculture industry needs to become ‘multi-functional’ in order to become competitive, and addressing all the agriculture associated subjects such as: food safety; eco-system; landscape; and culture aspects. Rational utilization of natural resource (water, soil) and improvement of life quality of rural areas are critical factors for agriculture to become competitive. Initiatives of industrial development and rural rejuvenation need to be integrated with LOHAS to ensure thoroughness. The detailed programs for policy deployment of LOHAS Agriculture and the framework of LOHAS Agriculture are summarized as follows:

Goals: 1. Shaping agriculture into a vigorous LOHAS farm industry that is highly competitive, has a younger workforce, and provides steady incomes; 2. Promoting the revitalization of farm communities, to create a new image on farm villages which is eco-friendly, scenic and; LOHAS 3. Emphasizing the multi-functional value of agriculture and developing sustainable agriculture.

Strategies: 1. Raising the industry’s competitiveness and leading the internationalization of Taiwan’s agriculture 1.1 Leverage information technology to enhance early warning mechanisms to stabilize agricultural production and marketing, and promote cross-field cooperation to speed up the establishment of industry value chains 1.2 Set up an agricultural Science & Technology research institute to promote innovation, R&D and industrial development. Combine with leading eco-friendly concepts and green energy to drive high-efficiency, energy-saving agricultural operation. 1.3 Strengthen global deployment of agricultural products, promote 8  

internationalization of recreational agriculture, grasp the benefits of economic cooperation (ECFA) with China and cross-strait direct flights to enter new markets and create new business opportunities, and protect agricultural Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and Plant Variety Rights (PVR). 1.4 Participate in international and cross-strait economic and trade negotiations, make careful preparations for agricultural negotiations and responsive policies, and effectuate adjustments to the structure of agriculture. Secure near term benefits, and long term sustainable operation of Taiwan’s agricultural industry.

2. Adjusting the structure of agriculture, and integrating the value-add development of resources 2.1 Set up a retirement system for aging farmers, and support the “small landlords, big tenant farmers” approach to promoting economy of scale; foster and mentor new-generation of agricultural operators; and promote farmers’ academy to raise the quality and operational efficiency of agricultural manpower. 2.2 Combine industrial development with farm village regeneration, set up special production zones, strengthen cluster effects, and raise the living quality of farming villagers as well as improve environmental quality of farm production. 2.3 Plan and establish farmers’ income support measures, promote agricultural insurance, conduct agricultural natural disaster relief, and maintain the income level of farmers. 3. Ensuring food security and strengthening safety of agricultural products 3.1 Raise the domestic food self-sufficiency rate, and set up diverse food safety mechanisms. 3.2 Promote the pursuit of higher-end output in traditional farming, expand labeling of origin, and shape local brand features; promote local production with local consumption, diverse marketing of agricultural products, and develop new demand for local food materials. 3.3 Promote traceability of agricultural products, organic agriculture, Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), certification standards, and other safety verification marks, and gradually align with international standards; and promote reasonable use of fertilizer and environmentally friendly 9  

agriculture. 3.4 Promote seamless management systems for agricultural product safety, and enhance animal and plant quarantine and testing efficiency. Providing safe and quality agricultural products to consumers, needs to be done from the very beginning of the agricultural products cycle. 4. Vitalizing the use of agricultural resources, and ensuring sustainable development 4.1 Adjust tillage systems, reduce fallow area, activate multi-use for fallow land, and encourage planting of import-substituting crops and local specialty crops. 4.2 Conserve valuable farmland, enhance farming use of the farmland, prevent re-zoning of farmland, and maintain a healthy environment for farming. 4.3 Promote golden corridors, and develop high-efficiency, energy-saving and water-conserving farming in severely subsided areas along the Taiwan High Speed Rail; carry out rational planning of agricultural water use, and optimize the functions of “san sheng” (production, living and ecology) and disaster prevention in farm use of water resources.   4.4 Strengthen the conservation of marine fishery resources, and guide the industry toward sustainable operations.    

10  

Framework of “Golden Decade – LOHAS Agriculture”     Shaping agriculture   into a vigorous LOHAS farm   competitive, a younger work industry with highly   force, and provides steady incomes     Promoting the vitalization of farm village communities, to  

Goals 

put a new ecological, scenic and cultural face on farm       Emphasizing the  multi-functional value of agriculture, activating fallow farmland,  

 

increasing efficiency of paddy-field water use,

 

and supporting sustainable development in  

1. Raising the industry’s competitiveness and leading the internationalization of Taiwan’s agriculture

2.

Adjusting the structure of agriculture, and integrating the value-adding development of

Strategic  Programs    3.

Ensuring food security, and strengthening agricultural product safety

4. Vitalizing the use of agricultural resources, and ensuring sustainable development

11  

Measures Agric ulture in Taiwa n has been unde r s iege due to indus t rial ization. In s om e

as pec ts ,

e no r m o u s

i nd us t r i a l i z at i on

gro wt h,

s uc h

as,

has

p ro pe l l ed

i m p ro v em e nt

of

agri c ul t ure f a rm i ng

i nd us t r y

wi t h

m a c hi n ery

and

i m prov em ent of produ cts (bot h vari et y and quant i t y). B ut i n ot her as pec ts, d ue to the loss of young work force, t he growth of agri c ulture has reac hed a plat eau, wi t h a dec lini ng t rend. The loss of y oung wo rkf orc e is attribut ed to t he rapi d gro wt h of t he c iti es whi c h has att ract ed m any young rural work ers to the c ities and the inc ome gap has been wi d ened bet ween urb an work ers and rural work ers .

M oreov er, adm inist rati on needs t o wi de n t he f oc us at the

gl obal l ev el i n order to eff ect iv ely dri v e t he dev el opment of agric ult ure and f u l l y tak e adv anta g e of l i b er a l i z at i on o f t r a de a nd ec o nom y. To i nc rease t he prof itabi lit y and c om pet it ivenes s of agri c ult ure indus t ry, Taiwan go v ernment has propos ed a s eri es strategic polic y and meas ures , s om e of t he m ea s u res a r e i nt r oduc e d bel ow:

1. Pro viding ser vi ce oriented syst em (建 構 農 業 雲 服 務 體 系 )

T he g oa l i s t o b u il d a m od er n i z ed s ys t em wi t h l e v er ag i ng c l o ud c om puti ng t ec hnology , t hat s at isf i es t he needs of c ust om ers, s erv ic e t o f arm ers, and depl oy m ent of poli c y. T he s yst em des ign c an st art f rom f ol l owi n g s er v i c e c at eg or i es : 



Core of agric ult ure 

P r o du c t i on



L ei s u re



I nv es ti gat ion



I nf o rm a ti on



Com m uni cat i on

S erv ic e t o f ood t rac eabil it y 

Loc al beef



O r g an i c f o od c ert if ic at i o n



CAS premium product



O r i gi n of t ea pro du c t s



F o od s a f et y

12  

2. Pr omo ti ng ‘ sm al l l andl or d s, bi g ten an t far m er s’ p ro gr am (推 動 小 地 主 大 佃 農 計 畫 ) T hi s m e asu r e was d es i g ne d t o enc ourag e t he agi ng f arm ers t o leas e t he i r i dl e f i el ds t o org an i z ed a gr i c ult ure a ge nc i e s unde r a l o ng- t er m agre em ent . T his pol icy wi l l be benef i cial to rest ruct ure the agric ultural l a bor pool a nd wi l l prov i d e t he agi ng f a r me r s a way t o m ak e p ro f i t f ro m t he i r i d l e lands d ur i ng r et i r e m en t as wel l a s l an d -o wner s wi t ho ut i nt e n t i on on f arm i ng. At t he same t im e, gov ernm en t wi l l prov ide c ouns eli ng and ass istanc e t o t he new agri c ul t ure operat ors in order f or t hem t o bui l d t hei r oper at ions wi th new equipment, leading tec hnologies and adv anc ed oper at ion conc epts. I n t hi s m e as u r e, t he f a rm e rs wh o l e a s e o ut t he i r i d l ed f i eld s are c on s i de re d as t h e ‘S m al l L an dl o r ds ’; t he o r gani z ed opera t or i s c on s i de r ed as t he ‘ big Tenant F arm er”. T his po lic y is des i gned t o f ul l y ut iliz e nat ural res ourc e, enabl es a c omf ortable ret i rement of agi ng f arm ers, dev elops ne w wor k f o r c e, and u p gr ad es t h e a g ri c u l t ur e opera t i on al eff ic i e n c ies .

3. E stab l i shin g F arm ers ’ A c ad emy (設 立 農 民 學 院 ) A not her meas ure i s the establ ishm ent of ‘F arm ers ’ Ac ademy ’. This is t he t r a i n i ng s c h oo l f or t h e f ar m c omm u ni t i e s . T he goal of t he A c adem y is t o educ at e and nurt ure the best qual it y farming professionals. The Ac ademy needs t o dev elop a s ystem whic h lev erages

R& D

and

educ at ion,

i nt egrat es

wi t h

exist ing

agri c ult ure

oper at i o n s t o pro v i de p ra c t i c al t rai n i n g f or f ar m i ng pro f ess i onal s . The progra m inv olv es diff erent lev els bas ed on exper ienc e lev el, and di ff erent subj ects bas ed on f arm ers ’ i nt erests. T he c l ass es start f rom c lass room l earni ng; then m ov ing i nt o t he f iel ds; t raini ng program s wi t h experimental f arming ranc hes are organi z ed as well in order t o dev elop ni c he s k i l ls o r s pe c i alti e s o r gener al s k i lls. On t op of the tec hnical sk ill development , the Ac ademy als o provides c lass es f or operat ion and management. Thes e c l asses are des igned to help

t he f arm i ng comm uni ti es t o bett er operat e and m anage

t hei r

inv est m ents. Long t erm c ons ultat ion is als o prov i ded aft er gradua t i on. T hi s

approac h

s upports

t he

bas ic

bel ief

t hat

educ at i on

is

t he

foundat i on of agri c ultural dev elopment. Farmers who graduate f rom t he Ac ademy will not only hav e good k nowledg e, sk il ls t o c ar r y o n wi t h t h ei r 13  

ende av ors; but als o hav e a s upport s yst em, a hel pf ul c ommunit y t o hel p the m fo r furt h e r dev el o pm e nts.

4. E stab li shin g agri cultu r al sci ence & technol og y in stitu te (設置農業科技研 究院) A n organizat i on t o driv e agric ult ural i nnov at i on or ref inem ent is need ed . Tai wan

ha s

t ransf orm ed

t he

exi st i ng

‘A nimal

T ec hnol ogy

Res earc h

I nst it ut e of Tai wan’ t o ‘A gric ult ural S c ienc e & T ec hnol ogy I nst it ute’ . T he m a i n purpos e of t hi s orga n i z at i on i s t o s ee k o pp o rt un i t i es t o bui l d a c om petit ive agri c ult ure i ndust ry. T his orga ni z at i on is t o: 

Not R& D f oc us ed, lev erage and in t egrat e R&D res ult s (f rom R& D cent er) wi t h exi s t i ng o p er at io n .



Industrialized agric ultural t ec hnology and commerc i aliz e agric ult ural produc ts.



Cons ol i date or ref orm rel at ed t ec hnol ogi es .



Em phas is on i nt egrat ion of ne w i nnov at iv e t ec hnol ogies wi t h i ndust ri a l r es ourc e.



Dri v e ov erall m anage m ent of i ntell ect ual propert y.



F ur t h er d ev el op p re m i um p ro du c t s



Dev el op a c ent er of exc el l enc e for i nnov at ion.



Ass ist agric ult ural enterpri s es t o gro w.



D ep l oy a n d e x ec ut e p ol i c y r el at e d p r ogr am s .

5. Impl em enti ng rural regeneration pr og ram (落實農村再生方案) ‘ Ru r al R eg en er at i on A c t ’ was f or m u l at ed a nd a nn o u n c ed d ur i ng A u g u s t of 2010. A f u ndi ng o f N T $ 15 0 bi l l i on was p ro po s e d a n d bu d g e t wi l l be prov i si oned wit h admi ni st rat i on in t he c oming 10 years. T he m ain f oc us of this progra m is to rev italiz e rural dev elopm ent, wit h goals to promote agri c ul t ural

popul at ion,

c reat e

em pl oy ment

opport unit i es,

enha nc e

agri c ul t ura l i nc om e a nd i m prov e t he q ua l i t y o f f a r m i n g c om m uni t i es .

6. E stabli shin g g ol d en agricultural co rri do r (建置農業黃金廊道) T oward t he goals of “ne w t ec hnologi es , new f arm ers and new i ndu st ry”, t he Counc i l of A gric ulture (CO A ) has pl an t o inv est a t ot al of NT $3. 3 bi ll i on (US $1 10 mil l i on ) ov e r 2013- 2 0 20 t o c r eat e an agr i c ul t u r al c o rri do r f o r t he 14  

wes t s ide of T ai wan. Few hi gh l ev el f oc us es are list ed bel ow: 

P rev ent i on of l ands li de.



Creation of wat er-s av ing agric ultural produc tion z ones; maximiz e us e of agric ult ural res ources.



St rengt hen t he appl icat ion of wat er-c ons ervat i on t ec hnologies and i nf o r mat i o n.



Expans ion of the sc ale of farm operations ; att ract new generations of f a rm e rs.



D ev el op m e n t o f l e is u r e a g ric u l t ur e t o uri s m .



S ophi stic at ion of t radit i onal prod uc ts.



Div ers if i ed m ark et i ng st rat egi es.



I nc en t iv e pro gr am f or wat er - e f f ic ient p r oduct io n.



D ep l oym e n t of s ol a r and g r een t ec h n ol og y R & D.

Conclusion Agric ulture is one of the c ore elem ents of a c ountry. The function need s t o b e a dj us t ed ac c ordi n g t o i t s d ev el op m ent . T h e l e gac y f u nct i o n, as “f o od prov i der” f rom basic f arm ing, has been t ransf ormed i nt o an organi z ed m u l t i -f u n c t i on i n dus t r y whi c h n e ed s t o c o n s i d er i n t e rna t i on al eco no m y a nd trades, needs to influenc e administ ration on agric ultural dev elopment, needs t o c on s i d e r f o od s af et y a nd ec o-s ys t em c ons erv at io n, n ee d s t o f o c us o n r u ral v il l ag e d ev e l op m ent , an d n ee ds t o b u i l d s us t a i nabl e operat i o ns . A l l of t h es e require s i gni f ic ant efforts i n order t o s ust ai n t he i ndus t ry its el f and t he c ount r y. Tra nsf orm at i o n of T aiwa n’ s a gr i cul t u r e is a jo u rn ey, and t h e t ot a l e ff o rt t o r e ac h t he des t i na t i o n i s s t i l l a l on g way a h e a d . M ai nt a i n i ng c ur r en t l ev el is n ot a c c ep t a bl e , i n o r der t o m o v e f o rwa r d t hr ou gh t h e j o urn ey a nd dev el o p a ne w e r a of p r osp e ri t y , T a i wa n ne e d s t o f urt h er dev el o p h er adv an t a ge s t o m e et t he c hal l enges , and l ev erage i t as the f oundat ion t o dev elop m ore opport uni t i es f o r f u t u re gro wt h .

15