The new government will seek to improve the profitability and sustainability of the nation’s agriculture sector by introducing major reforms, promoting safe agricultural products and boosting exports, president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
Tsai made the remarks at a news conference during her tour of Chiayi, where she visited the county’s agricultural cooperatives in Singang (新港) and Taibo (太保) townships, accompanied by Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠) and Chiayi Mayor Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲).
Tsai said that her administration would promote “a new agricultural paradigm” to raise the incomes of farm workers with a focus on protecting their rights, increasing the sector’s potential for development and promoting environmental sustainability.
Photo: CNA
Major policy changes would include the introduction of a farmer’s insurance scheme and subsidies for preserving green lands on agricultural properties, she added.
Tsai said she would introduce an agricultural product safety certification system that would be compatible with global standards, so that domestic and international consumers would have peace of mind when buying Taiwanese products.
The government would also encourage innovative marketing strategies to promote Taiwanese exports, she said.
“Making agriculture a truly profitable and sustainable business will ensure the dignity of farmers,” she said.
Tsai said that Singang’s flower farmers concentrate on bluebell flower exports to Japan and plan their harvests during Japanese producers’ off-season to avoid direct competition.
This not only satisfies market demand, but also helps Taiwanese producers maintain a more efficient system for selecting quality products and securing transportation, she said.
The successful business model of Singang’s floricultural cooperative in producing and exporting high-value farm products exemplifies the new agricultural paradigm the new government would encourage, she added.
The greatest challenge for Taiwanese agriculture is to combine the resources of its predominantly small-scale farmers with effective organizations for production, value-adding, packaging and sales, Tsai said.
“Taiwan’s agriculture has sound fundamentals and aptitude for progress, as well as young and innovative farm workers. With good policy direction from the government, it is certain that Taiwanese agriculture will become a strong team,” she said.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
RSS