Democratic Progressive Party Legislator William Lai (賴清德), who is running in the Greater Tainan mayoral election next month, has said that he will establish an agricultural think tank if elected, adding that he encourages the establishment of farming schools where agricultural techniques can be exchanged in local communities.
Nowadays, when talk of profit dominates politics, the idea of incorporating the wisdom of our older generation of farmers into policy is indeed a welcome change.
The nation’s traditional farmers were around long before chemical pesticides started being used. In days gone by, our farmlands were beautiful, our waters were clean and we had an abundance of fauna. We need to remember these times for if that precious knowledge is not quickly collated and passed on, I am afraid that future generations of Taiwanese will get used to the dilapidated farming villages we already have and they will be unable to develop any real love for our land.
Much more valuable than this, however, is the understanding farmers have of our ecosystems. In the past, our farmers relied on the good bacteria that existed in vast quantities in our land as they made organic fertilizer, softened up the soil and helped the land absorb nutrients.
However, the way chemical fertilizer has been abused over the last 50 years has seen our farmlands deteriorate with only pests and bad bacteria left on them.
As soon as farmers cannot afford these two types of supplies, whose manufacture is oil-reliant, our agricultural production will collapse. This is not something that will go away as we approach the post-petroleum era. It will lead to a recurring disaster.
In 2005, the UN brought together 800 experts and academics in a collaborative effort called the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development. The results were released in a report two years ago. Of particular note is the report’s conclusion that Agricultural Ecology, or Agroecology, should be the basis of agricultural industries and agriculture. This, it says, is the best way to deal with future food crises, not the genetic modifying technology controlled by large corporations.
However, we cannot rely solely on the academic world, especially since academia in Taiwan is not particularly strong in this area. What we need is for researchers and farmers to work together: It is the farmers who truly understand their local natural ecosystems, as they work on the land day in, day out. This is also the reason why participatory research has become so popular overseas in the last few years.
Talk, however, is cheap, and actually getting ourselves in a position in which we can collate the collective knowledge of traditional farmers, especially regarding their understanding of weeds and insects, is something else entirely.
The only people capable of doing this job would be those with a strong background in biological testing. I would therefore like to suggest Lai immediately bring together biology teachers and volunteers in the fields of ecosystems and environmental protection to work together in this meaningful job.
I also hope that the Council of Agriculture and political leaders do not play politics with something as important as this, for learning from our older generation of farmers should be a concerted, nationwide undertaking.
Warren Kuo is a professor at National Taiwan University’s Department of Agronomy.
TRANSLATED BY DREW CAMERON
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has offered Taiwan a paradoxical mix of reassurance and risk. Trump’s visceral hostility toward China could reinforce deterrence in the Taiwan Strait. Yet his disdain for alliances and penchant for transactional bargaining threaten to erode what Taiwan needs most: a reliable US commitment. Taiwan’s security depends less on US power than on US reliability, but Trump is undermining the latter. Deterrence without credibility is a hollow shield. Trump’s China policy in his second term has oscillated wildly between confrontation and conciliation. One day, he threatens Beijing with “massive” tariffs and calls China America’s “greatest geopolitical
On Sunday, 13 new urgent care centers (UCC) officially began operations across the six special municipalities. The purpose of the centers — which are open from 8am to midnight on Sundays and national holidays — is to reduce congestion in hospital emergency rooms, especially during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year. It remains to be seen how effective these centers would be. For one, it is difficult for people to judge for themselves whether their condition warrants visiting a major hospital or a UCC — long-term public education and health promotions are necessary. Second, many emergency departments acknowledge
US President Donald Trump’s seemingly throwaway “Taiwan is Taiwan” statement has been appearing in headlines all over the media. Although it appears to have been made in passing, the comment nevertheless reveals something about Trump’s views and his understanding of Taiwan’s situation. In line with the Taiwan Relations Act, the US and Taiwan enjoy unofficial, but close economic, cultural and national defense ties. They lack official diplomatic relations, but maintain a partnership based on shared democratic values and strategic alignment. Excluding China, Taiwan maintains a level of diplomatic relations, official or otherwise, with many nations worldwide. It can be said that
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) made the astonishing assertion during an interview with Germany’s Deutsche Welle, published on Friday last week, that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not a dictator. She also essentially absolved Putin of blame for initiating the war in Ukraine. Commentators have since listed the reasons that Cheng’s assertion was not only absurd, but bordered on dangerous. Her claim is certainly absurd to the extent that there is no need to discuss the substance of it: It would be far more useful to assess what drove her to make the point and stick so
RSS