As a wealthy trading nation, there is no shortage of food in the supermarkets of Taiwan. But most of it is imported, and I was amazed to learn that about 25% of farmland in Taiwan is unused.
Trudging around in the mud on the family small-holding is just not attractive to the current generation of highly-educated urban professionals. The average farm size is just 1.1 hectares (Japan 1.6, EU 20, USA 190) and the average age of farmers is 58 years, so I see a picture of old men struggling to make a living without the benefit of any economies of scale. And climate change has increased the incidence and severity of typhoon damage too.
In 2008 the government introduced a program of structural reforms aimed at enabling the ageing farmers to profitably lease their farms to long-term tenants who would be able to create larger more efficient agro-businesses. The intention is to provide the current generation of subsistence farmers with a secure income as they age, and to enable more efficient production of food for local needs.
It's interesting that the plan also stresses the need for reduced fertilisers and pesticides, as well as more research into plant genetics and better training for farmers. It seems to me that this is a positive step towards making farming more sustainable as well as more productive.
Jaiyo, the Council of Agriculture!
(PS I was sad to see that, in traditional fashion, another group of academics have
'improved' Taiwan's performance with regard to undernourishment by devising their own system of measurement.)
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