Protests against water rationing announced by the Council of Agriculture (COA) earlier last month to brave a nationwide drought continued yesterday as dozens of farmers and activists rallied in front of the Executive Yuan in Taipei, accusing the government of prioritizing the water demand of the industrial sector over that of farming.
The sanction is set to be imposed on 41,576 hectares of fields practicing monoculture in Greater Taoyuan, Hsinchu County, Miaoli County, Greater Taichung and the Chiayi-Nantou irrigation zones, and will be the second-largest operation in the nation’s history.
Taiwan Rural Front (TRF) secretary-general Tsai Pei-hui (蔡培慧) said the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) sells water to industrial and science parks at one-third the price of tap water, which means that these sectors would only share 10 percent of the estimated NT$3 billion (US$94.86 million) in compensation earmarked for farmland owners and farmers due to fallow fields.
Photo: CNA
In contrast, the agricultural sector would need to cover more than 50 percent of the total sum, which is to be paid using taxpayers’ money, she said.
Despite the COA saying that more than 300 farming households would receive compensation of NT$85,000 per 0.97 hectare of fallow land for green manure crops, farmers said the money was insufficient to offset their losses.
Chuang Cheng-teng, a prize-winning rice farmer in Hsinchu County’s Jhudong Township (竹東), said the authorities are allocating the majority of water in the Toucian River (頭前溪) to Hsinchu Science Park to ensure its normal operation, making farmers a “minority group.”
He said the council’s decision would have a profound impact on independent farming households that have invested millions of NT dollars in loans on farming machinery.
Tenant farmer Sun Tung-chuan (孫同權) said the council asked tenant farmers to settle an agreement with landowners on how to share the compensation, but he and his counterparts dare not ask for a share of the money because they are worried doing so would spoil their relationship with their employers.
“That means we probably will not be paid over the six-month duration that the fallow is estimated to last, maybe even longer,” he said.
Hung Hsiang (洪箱), who grows organic peanuts and sweet potatoes, said: “It is not that we are unwilling to comply [with the COA’s decision]. We would be more than willing to share the load if this were the result of a natural disaster, but the decision is humiliating and an act of bullying against farmers.”
“The government agencies should listen to public opinion rather than make decisions behind closed doors,” she added.
TRF researcher Chen Ping-hsuan (陳平軒) raised doubts about the COA’s claim that only 10 percent of overall yields in the irrigation zones would be affected, saying that the council should clarify what it based its calculations upon.
He criticized COA Minister Chen Bao-ji’s (陳保基) remarks on Monday that farmers should plant crops with higher drought tolerance during water rationing, saying that the shift is “easier said than done.”
“There are many things to consider, such as procuring farming equipment, the sourcing of seed,and how to maintain profits,” he said.
A negotiation between demonstrators and Executive Yuan, Water Resources Agency and COA officials following the protest was not productive, with officials saying that they would proceed with the water rationing as planned.
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