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New livestock foundation born

"I would prefer to see the foundation act as a liaison among scientists, industry and the government to solve problems faced by farmers."

Lee Yen-pai, professor at National Chung Hsin University

In order to cope with the difficulties faced by Taiwan's livestock products industry in the face of global trade liberalization -- particularly with the prospect of the island's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) -- the National Animal Industry Foundation (NAIF, 中央畜產會) came into being yesterday.

The non-governmental organization is under the supervision of the Council of Agriculture (COA) and is the result of a merger between three smaller groups, including poultry and meat product (種豬) development foundations. In a bid to coordinate efforts between two new government strategies, academia and the livestock products industry, officials at the foundation said yesterday that it would act as a bridge between farmers and the government.

"Regulating production and marketing will be one of our priorities. We will provide farmers with the information they need, especially strategies to deal with Taiwan's accession into the World Trade Organization -- such as coordinating the import and export of livestock products in order to stabilize prices," said the NAIF's director, Chuang Ming-cheng (莊銘城).

According to COA statistics from last year, the central government spent NT$10.6 billion in subsidies and loans to help over 6,000 pig and poultry farmers whom the government asked to switch to other businesses in light of Taiwan's upcoming accession to the WTO.

Agriculture officials said the NAIF would continue to develop the businesses of the formerly separate poultry and livestock groups.

"The foundation will facilitate the establishment of a livestock industry management system, which will be helpful to farmers in building channels for selling products, learning more about international trends, and battling animal epidemics," Chuang said.

He added that adopting efficient strategies had been hampered in the past by the redundant functions of the private development founda-tions.

However, academic experts said it will take time to see the impact of the 40-person foundation's efforts.

"I would prefer to see the foundation act as a liaison among scientists, industry and the government to solve problems faced by farmers who cannot do anything to fight global trends, but can cooperate with the government," said Lee Yen-pai (李淵百), a professor of animal science at National Chung Hsin University.

Lee said the NAIF will be paid for by farmers themselves in several ways, such as by deducting subsidies paid to them for animal feed and other products.

Lee said he has heard no complaints so far from farmers about the foundation, but added that "farmers have to accept the idea of paying for what you use."

"If the foundation is established as a sound organization, the NAIF will be a good combination of the previously redundant agricultural administration units," Lee said.
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