The Council of Agriculture on July 10 announced a policy that was a long time coming: It is to draft regulations to improve betel nut production safety and discourage its use within this fiscal year. The bill would be similar to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法), discouraging consumption while requiring production safety and pesticide regulation.
Council Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said that the government can no longer continue its “three noes” strategy of “no encouragement, no prohibition, no advisory,” considering the burgeoning trove of information pointing out the many dangers of betel nut use.
According to the Health Promotion Administration, up to 90 percent of Taiwanese who develop oral cancer — the nation’s fifth most-fatal type — chew betel nut, with chewers 28 times more likely to develop the disease.
The plant’s ecological effects are also of significant concern, as forest cover on hillsides is cleared to make way for betel nut plantations, making the soil more susceptible to erosion and increasing the risk of landslides and water pollution.
Previous policy efforts have not entirely been characterized by the “three noes.” In 2008, the government implemented a subsidy program to encourage farmers to switch from cultivating betel nut to other crops, but it was so unsuccessful that after only two years, the Control Yuan declared it to be failing.
In 2014, the Executive Yuan reinstated a program that offers farmers up to NT$250,000 per hectare to plant other crops. Under the policy, 3,281 hectares have been transformed, the council said, although about 42,510 hectares of betel nut still remain.
The council said it would continue this policy, but it must do more than offering farmers pittances that are just enough to fund the transformation itself.
The crop is relatively easy to cultivate, which is why many farmers switch to it in the first place. The trees require fertilization once per year compared with three or four times for other crops, while weeding is only required once or twice yearly. For mountainous communities with small labor pools, it would be difficult to switch to a more labor-intensive crop, meaning that heftier incentives are needed.
One model to consider is the Royal Project Foundation started by the Thai crown in 1969 to help highland communities switch from growing opium to sustainable produce. Under the program, a state-run company buys produce for higher-than-market prices on the condition that the farmers adhere to its high production standards — which it also helps teach — then processes the crops into products that are expected to have generated 2.4 billion baht (US$77.75 million) in revenue last year.
This kind of comprehensive approach assures producers that switching crops will be lucrative and stable, and offers the training necessary to produce high-value crops. While it might not be exactly right for Taiwan, it could serve as inspiration for a more holistic approach.
In addition, better education about the effects of betel nut consumption is necessary.
A study released on Dec. 3 last year by the Taiwan Alliance for Areca Nut Control and Oral Cancer Prevention found that only 51.2 percent of respondents were aware of the nut’s adverse health effects, down from the group’s previous study.
If nearly half of the population is unaware of the harm betel nuts can cause, any government policy discouraging its production and use will fall to the cultural forces ensuring its ubiquity, as the social and economic benefits outweigh any perceived cost.
The council should be commended for no longer turning a blind eye to this issue, although a deft hand is needed to balance economic needs with public health and safety. Hopefully saying “yes” to the importance of good policy will be a good start.
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