The Council of Agriculture on Tuesday announced plans to work with other government agencies to promote long-term care programs in remote areas, which it hopes will encourage young farmers to return to rural communities.
When council Minister Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) was asked what the council’s position was on illegal structures on farmland, he said that agriculture had no future if farmland continues to be occupied by such structures, without offering a plan of action.
The council on July 25 said that 13,000 hectares of the nation’s farmland were occupied by illegally built factories. It listed 109 factories in Changhua that would be demolished and said their owners would need to pay for land restoration.
The issue would possibly be better addressed if the council could attract young people back to rural areas to engage in agriculture.
Bringing young people to the countryside — or keeping them there — means not only providing economic opportunities, but also providing conditions conducive to raising families.
Surveys published over the past several years by organizations such as the Child Welfare League Foundation have uncovered huge gaps in educational resources between rural and urban areas. Up to a quarter of rural children surveyed lacked even basic English language skills and up to half of rural sixth-graders were unable to answer questions that their urban counterparts could.
There is also a lack of other resources, like pediatric facilities, in rural areas. Former minister of Health and Welfare Lin Tzou-yien (林奏延) once said that while there are many pediatricians in the country, more than half of them run their own clinics. They are unlikely to establish clinics in rural areas if there are few children there. Schools and hospitals are unable to get more funding because populations are small, and populations do not grow because schools and hospitals lack funding, so families move elsewhere. Ending this vicious cycle means first creating an attractive environment for people in rural communities.
This is not to suggest that authorities are sitting idle: Hengchun Township (恆春) officials, for example, on Dec. 8 announced a NT$20,000 (US$667.38) subsidy for residents who marry and have children. They said the town’s annual birth rate is lower than its death rate and they worry about its ability to sustain itself.
Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) on Oct. 29 urged the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to expand the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit line to Pingtung County — a move that would make it easier for people to live in the county and work in nearby Kaohsiung.
Meanwhile, Teach for Taiwan, a local affiliate of international nonprofit organization Teach for All, has sent teachers to rural schools. However, while rural teachers receive stipends from the government for living in remote areas, many are reluctant to work at rural schools, as they would have access to fewer resources and live in a less exciting environment.
Ultimately, getting more people and more funding to rural areas depends on expanding and diversifying work opportunities. One way to do this would be to encourage businesses to empower employees to work off-site. Many types of work can be done from home and this would alleviate congestion in the cities.
Former premier Lin Chuan (林全) has said that NT$46.056 billion of the government’s Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program budget is to be invested to improve the nation’s digital infrastructure, so rural areas should eventually see network speeds capable of supporting remote connections.
Flexible work conditions would also empower female employees who choose to have families.
Solving the rural-urban gap might be as simple as improving flexibility for workers. Farming and handicrafts are not the only things that can be done in rural communities.
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