To mark the beginning of spring showers, Council of Agriculture Minister Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) yesterday led council officials in planting rice seedlings at a field in Yilan County.
According to the 24 solar terms (二 十 四節氣) that farmers in ancient China used to guide their agricultural activities, spring showers present a good time for plowing fields and sowing seeds, as the weather becomes warmer and rainfall increases.
This year’s spring showers started yesterday and continue until the beginning of next month.
Lin, along with council officials, yesterday worshiped the gods and planted rice seedlings on a field owned by Lo San-peng (羅三朋), who grows organic rice in the county’s Suao Township (蘇澳).
The ceremony was aimed at showing respect for the land, and praying for favorable weather and abundant harvests this year, the council said.
The nation’s agricultural harvest was stable last year, but the council still has to prepare for the challenges extreme weather conditions could present, Lin said.
Improving farmers’ insurance, exploring new techniques for disaster prevention, developing new crop species that are resistant to difficult conditions and seeking new production areas are the council’s key objectives this year, Lin added.
The council on Monday last week launched new guidelines that clarify identity qualifications and requirements for insurance application to help underprivileged farmers receive insurance coverage.
The guidelines are to take effect tomorrow.
People working in agricultural production can file an application for insurance with local farmers’ associations by presenting the required documentation, the council said.
Particularly, farmers who work on other people’s land based on a verbal agreement have to prove that their crop sales reach at least NT$250,000 per year or that their investment in agricultural production equipment totals at least NT$150,000, it said.
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