Sat, Jan 18, 2014 page8

• Liberalizing agriculture is awry

  • By Du Yu 杜宇
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  Agriculture has always been at the center of trade disputes. Since the government believes joining regional trade groups is inevitable and agriculture is a hard-to-avoid issue in trade talks, it should first brainstorm, use detailed evaluations to create suitable responses and coordinate and integrate related ministries.

  What it should not do is make estimates using adjusted economic models when much of the industrial data is incomplete, then use these estimates to set aside compensatory funds to appear as if it is doing its job.

  Numbers are cold facts, while the feelings of our farmers are the exact opposite.

  Agriculture in Taiwan is restricted by limitations, like natural and artificial resources and the government’s “land to the tiller” policy. Taiwanese farms are predominantly smaller-sized and family-run with an average actual farming area of 1.1 hectares. The output is so restricted that it is hard for them to bring about cost advantages that come with economies of scale. Larger Taiwanese farms seem small compared with the large farms overseas that sometimes span several thousand hectares.

  For many years, agriculture in Taiwan has mainly relied on new crop varieties that have resulted from the hard work of the nation’s farmers, testing and research bodies, production technology, management skills and high-quality agricultural products. This has allowed them to win the praise of local and foreign consumers and to compete with international agricultural products that cost much less to produce.

  Unfortunately, when interviewed by the media, top agricultural officials talk about how they support the transfer of Taiwan’s agricultural technology overseas and act as if the transfer of Taiwan’s core agricultural varieties and technology for nothing in exchange is nothing to worry about. Officials seem to believe that when overseas companies use the nation’s technology, they will not sell these products back to Taiwan, and that our domestic market will not be impacted. Trade talks result in such products being sold back to the Taiwanese domestic market, which will hurt local agriculture.

  Officials avoid talking about how Taiwanese agricultural products need foreign markets to help readjust price and quantity and that foreign agricultural products possess various advantages over Taiwanese products, such as low production costs and a steady supply over long periods.

  The heads of agricultural bodies have made ridiculous comments, such as that agriculture knows no borders and that since the US and Japan transferred technology to the nation in the past, Taiwan should transfer technology to other countries, as it now has the ability to do.

  This also indirectly answers the question as to why the government has gained so little ground protecting the nation’s sensitive agricultural technology and product varieties. Little wonder that farmers suspect the government of trying to get rid of them and agriculture.

  As investment in agriculture has become more popular globally, advanced countries and large multinational corporations have begun focusing on technology research and development, while stressing the importance of protecting intellectual property rights. What they are primarily concerned with are huge profits.

  Would the Japanese government export special varieties of fruit like Aomori apples, its unique variety of mango known as “eggs of the sun” and Japanese cantaloupe then hand over the technology used in their production to other countries? Of course not. This would create competition for their farmers.

  As soon as a foreign business finds an appropriate location, it can use cheaper natural resources from the local area, leverage the large consumer markets and then use Taiwan’s agricultural technology to produce a large volume of so-called “Taiwanese” agricultural products.

  The products they produce will not only have more market competitiveness than Taiwanese agricultural products, they will also stifle the nation’s chances of exporting its own products.

  If this were to happen, why would foreign companies make a huge effort to come to Taiwan to invest in and produce agriculture here?

  If consumers overseas are able to easily enjoy Taiwan’s wide variety of agricultural products in their own countries, then how is the nation to attract them travel to Taiwan and try the its unique agricultural delicacies?

  Keeping the best of Taiwan’s agricultural products in the country and using the tourism industry to attract large numbers of people will be one of the main ways Taiwanese agriculture will develop in the future.

  Rice farmer Peng Ching-hsing (彭鏡興), founder of the renowned rice brand Tianheyu (天禾玉), also shares this opinion.

  There are a few success stories with the internationalization of Taiwan’s agriculture, although citing these as proof that the current agricultural structure can stand the impact of trade liberalization is overly optimistic and not pragmatic enough.

  The nation should improve the agricultural industry by taking inventory of Taiwan’s advantages, which include agricultural varieties and technological know-how, then bring the best of local agriculture to international trade talks backed by the government in order to carve out a bigger share of overseas markets.

  This is the only way that agriculture can become a major industry in Taiwan.

  Du Yu is a member of the Chen-Li task force for Agricultural Reform.

  Translated by Drew Cameron
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