Ministry postpones decision on leaving more fields fallow

Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (林義夫) said yesterday that the ministry will hold a meeting on Jan. 14 to decide whether more rice paddies in northern Taiwan should lie fallow in the coming spring given the small amount of rainfall over the past few months.

Last month, the Cabinet decided to leave about 3,000 hectares of Hsinchu rice paddies fallow early this year. The Cabinet planned to decide yesterday whether agricultural land in either Taoyuan and Shihmen irrigation areas would face the same restrictions.

But at a press conference yesterday, Lin said the ministry needed to further assess the water supplies, as the country's major reservoirs have taken in water over the past few days.

Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢), deputy director of the Water Resources Agency, said data provided by the Central Weather Bureau show that rainfall in the first three months of this year will be more than the normal level. He said that mid-January would be a suitable time to decide whether more land should be left fallow.

Chen reiterated that it is highly unlikely that rice fields in central and southern Taiwan will be left fallow.

According to Chen, the water level of the Feitsui Reservoir in Taipei County has risen to 155.28m, while the Shihmen Reservoir in Taoyuan County remained steady at 229.5m -- similar to the level measured Dec. 19.

Despite forecasts for greater spring rain, the Central Weather Bureau noted that it does not mean that rainfall for the whole of the year will be sufficient and urged the public not to waste water.