The Council of Agriculture (COA) is to offer a total of NT$20 billion (US$677 million) in yearly subsidies to farmers who use their land for agricultural production and who raise grains with higher economic value, COA Deputy Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) announced yesterday.
The policy is aimed at ensuring farmland is used for agricultural production, boosting farmers’ revenue and restructuring agricultural production, Chen told a news conference in Taipei.
Farmers can obtain a subsidy of NT$13,500 per hectare of rice harvested in the first production period (February to June) and NT$10,000 for rice harvested in the second production period (July to November), he said.
Farmers can sell their rice to the government or to the market, he said, adding that better prices would encourage the production of higher-quality rice.
While rice is grown on about 275,000 hectares of agricultural land, the council hopes to curtail its production area to 250,000 hectares, he said.
The council also encourages farmers to grow grains with higher economic value, such as soybeans, corn, wheat, sugar cane or oil-seed camellia.
Farmers growing soybeans and flint corns that are not genetically modified can receive subsidies of between NT$60,000 and NT$70,000 per hectare of production, up from between NT$45,000 and NT$55,000 per hectare, the council said.
Most farmers are positive about the policy of boosting grain cultivation, the Agriculture and Food Agency Food Industry Division Director Lin Chuan-chi (林傳琦) said.
The council is also working to promote processed agricultural commodities by cooperating with companies such as I-Mei Foods Co, Lin said.
The measures would help boost the nation’s self-sufficiency from 31 percent to 33 or 35 percent, Chen said.
Encouraging the cultivation of different types of agricultural products can help boost the nation’s agricultural exports, especially when Taiwan is likely to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, he said.
The council has found many foreign buyers for the nation’s agricultural products and expects them to place large orders soon, he said, without identify ing the buyers’ nationalities.
The council also offers subsidies of between NT$34,000 and NT$45,000 for farmers who sustain their lands with eco-friendly measures, it said.
The policy targets 350,000 hectares of farmland demarcated from 1993 to 2006, but the council expects an additional 300,000 hectares of farmland to be covered by the policy after the Ministry of the Interior completes its rezoning of the nation’s agricultural development areas, Chen said.
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