The goal of making NT$1 million (US$30,242) per year has long been an aspiration for Taiwanese, and while most of those who are able to achieve that goal are white-collar workers, the experience of Tseng Chia-lin (曾加霖) and Huang Chun-hao (黃俊豪) have shown that young farmers can too.
The farmers’ association in Tainan’s Jiangjun District (將軍) has seen firsthand the impact of the nation’s aging demographics on the agricultural sector, as the average age of residents of local agricultural communities is about 62 years old, so it is taking steps to draw young people back to farming.
The association, in collaboration with the Council of Agriculture, provides subsidies to encourage young people to take up farming.
Photo: Yang Chin-cheng, Taipei Times
The association has established courses that help young farmers learn production management and marketing, and also sponsored farmers’ markets to aid the sale of farmers’ produce, association director-general Wu Ming-cheng (吳明成) said.
Traditional agriculture is labor intensive, which has discouraged young people from pursuing farming as a career, but recent years have brought changes in concepts regarding agriculture, Wu said.
Many of the young people now involved in farming in the district have left other professions and are interested in farming because they want to work closer to nature or to live in a rural area, Wu said.
Chen Li-hao (陳力豪), 24, is one such example.
He has a master’s degree in economics and used to work as stock analyst, but decided to move to Jiangjun two years ago because he no longer wanted to work in an office, Wu said.
Chen said he had no previous farming experience since he did not come from a farming family, but he was willing to bear the risks of natural disaster and pests that come with farming.
The majority of young farmers in the district are under 40 years old and some were able to make NT$1 million last year by growing corn, asparagus and fruits, Wu said.
Their achievements have come as a surprise to many older farmers, association staffer Lin Yen-liang (林彥良) said.
We hope that these young farmers will remain in the community to help rejuvenate farming villages and the industry as a whole, Wu said.
However, sounding like the analyst he once was, Chen said that farming was not a guaranteed ticket to a better life and individuals should weigh the risks accordingly.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
RSS