The Council of Agriculture (COA) on Thursday proposed that agriculture-related development be permitted on 90 percent of the nation’s farmlands, while environmentalists said those farmlands should be designated as first-degree environmentally sensitive areas to ensure proper agricultural management.
The proposal was put forward during a meeting of the Ministry of the Interior’s National Regional Plan committee.
The council designates all of the nation’s farmlands — about 860,000 hectares — according to four categories: category one farmland is where 80 percent of a property is used agriculturally; category two farmland is where 60 percent is used; category three farmland is where less than 60 percent is used; and category four farmland is a sloped area.
Prior to the meeting, water conservation activists staged a demonstration and demanded the inclusion of three of the four categories of farmlands as first-degree environmentally sensitive areas to mitigate farmland loss.
Taiwan Water Resources Conservation Union standing director Wu Li-hui (吳麗慧) said that category one, three and four farmlands, which account for about 90 percent of the nation’s farmlands, should be designated as first-degree environmentally sensitive areas to prohibit non-agricultural activities.
Wu called for an additional designation of prime farmland, on which farmhouses would not be permitted.
Saying that the council’s farmland regulations have allowed quality farmland to be lost to speculators, union director Jennifer Nien (粘麗玉) said that the council has not set up any provision to separate irrigation systems from sewage systems to reduce pollution.
Taiwan Rural Front spokesperson Chen Ping-hsuan (陳平軒) said that Taiwan’s rates of food self-sufficiency have been lower than the 40 percent threshold over the years, and 40,000 hectares of farmlands had been lost over the past 10 years, so quality farmlands must be designated as first-degree environmentally sensitive areas and safeguarded for food production.
However, during the meeting, the council proposed to designate category-one, three and four farmlands as second-degree environmentally sensitive areas, where larger agricultural development and change in category of land are permitted upon approval.
Council Planning Division director Tsao Shao-hui (曹紹徽) said that first-degree areas, such as water reserves, cannot be developed.
She said the designation of farmlands as first-degree would then require farmers to go through an environmental review process before constructing any large farming facilities, which would only serve to limit agricultural development.
Chen said that the council was looking out for industrial farmers when proposing to designate those farmlands as second-degree areas, as 90 percent of the nation’s farmers have no wherewithal to construct high-end facilities.
The committee decided to postpone the designation of farmlands until the council could propose a more satisfying measure.
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