The Council of Agriculture (COA) will increase the amount of low-interest loans offered to orchid farms by as much as 25 times to help the industry recover more quickly, an official said yesterday.
As orchids are high-value crops that require expensive equipment for farming, including greenhouses and air-conditioning, “the COA has agreed to sharply raise the amount of low-interest loans offered to orchid farmers to shorten the time needed to help the industry get back on its feet,” said Chen Wen-te (陳文德), director-general of the council’s Agriculture and Food Agency.
“Orchid greenhouses in Tainan County that were devastated by Typhoon Morakot covered 13 hectares, making up about 10 percent of the nation’s orchid plantations,” Chen said.
Losses from Typhoon Morakot have reached NT$120 million for the orchid farms in Tainan County, where most of the nation’s orchid farms are located, Chen said.
COA Minister Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄) visited Tainan County yesterday to meet orchid farmers, boost their morale and formulate post-disaster strategies.
The council has also formed a panel of experts to discuss how to restore the nation’s orchid industry.
With the amended regulation, low-interest loans issued according to the Agricultural Natural Disaster Relief Regulations (農業天然災害救助辦法) for orchid farmers will be increased from NT$1.2 million per hectare, to NT$10,000 per ping (3.3m²). As a hectare is equivalent to 3,025 ping, the change translates to a 25-fold increase from NT$397 per ping to NT$10,000.
The announcement was the latest in a series of moves by the council to help industries devastated by the typhoon.
The council announced on Sunday that to help the nation reclaim its reputation as the “Kingdom of Cultured Grouper,” it would increase loans offered to grouper farmers from NT$1 million per hectare to as much as NT$8 million.
As of yesterday, the amount of total agricultural losses sustained by the nation from damage caused by Morakot had reached NT$16 billion.
With the number continuing to climb, experts said the final figure was likely to top Typhoon Herb’s impact in 1995, which reached NT$18.5 billion.
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