Volunteers on Saturday helped Hung Wen-chu (洪文居), an 84-year-old taro farmer in Kinmen County’s Lieyu Township (烈嶼), collect his harvest.
The event was organized by the Kinmen Department of Economic Affairs’ Agriculture and Forestry Section.
The agency has been promoting organic and environmentally friendly farming practices in the past few years, but because the methods can affect harvests, some farmers have had reservations, section head Chung Li-wei (鐘立偉) said.
Photo: CNA
Hung does not use pesticides or chemical fertilizers, making his taro field in the Cingci area (青岐) unique, Chung said.
It has dragonflies and birds, while fish swim in a ditch near the field, which means that the field is uncontaminated, he said.
Regular taro fields use chemical fertilizers, which contain high levels of nitrogen, said Hung, who has been growing taros since he was 14.
However, fertilizers only promote excessive leaf growth, so he uses burnt oyster shells to control soil pH levels, Hung said.
Although his plants do not have big leaves, the taros are especially fragrant and tasty, he said.
While in the past he would plant 3,000 seedlings, this year he only planted 1,200 due to the physical toll, he said, adding that in his younger days, he could harvest 500 jin (300kg) of taros per day.
Chung said he had hoped for 20 volunteers, but more than 40 showed up.
They arrived at Lieyu by boat from the main island of Kinmen.
The harvest is to be transported to Taiwan proper, Chung said.
Among the volunteers were National Kinmen Senior High School teacher of physical education Wu Che-yun (吳哲昀), his wife and their children, who are six and two-and-a-half.
If the children ran out of energy, they helped sort the taro or cheered the other workers on, Wu said.
This was her first time harvesting taro, said Wu Yu-hua (吳玉華), who works at the Lieyu Township Administration.
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