Farmers are not permitted to burn rice straw as a method of pest control, and those found doing so could be fined up to NT$100,000 (US$3,259), the Environmental Protection Administration said in a statement.
The Taitung County Government approached the environmental agency with the proposition of allowing farmers to burn rice straw, which is a traditional practice, but it said that burning straw does not deter the presence of harmful insects.
Burning rice straw is a common practice in many countries during the rice harvest season, but studies have found that it creates air pollutants such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, and can remove nutrients from the soil, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Agriculture and Food Agency
Farmers in Taitung who burn rice straw could contravene the Air Pollution Control Act (空氣污染防制法) and the Fire Services Act (消防法), the agency said.
The county’s Environmental Protection Bureau said that it would discuss the issue with the agency, to see whether burning straw could be allowed under local guidelines.
Burning straw was permitted in Taitung’s Guanshan Township (關山) last year from June 20 to June 30, between 8am and 5pm.
“If local agriculture officials determine a need to burn crops for pest control, they can submit a special request to the city and county governments, and be exempted from legal penalties,” Department of Air Quality Protection and Noise Control Director-General Tsai Meng-yu (蔡孟裕) said last week.
The law was meant to stop widespread straw burning, to prevent environmental damage, he said.
The agency said that it was working with the Council of Agriculture to promote the use of a bacteria-based organic fertilizer to accelerate the decomposition of rice straw.
Subsidies for the fertilizer have been provided since 2017, the statement said, adding that decomposition of straw keeps its nutrients in the soil, which prevents problems such as nitrogen deficiency.
Last year, straw-decomposing organic fertilizer was used on 13,000 hectares of rice crops, council statistics showed.
There were 760 cases of open-air burning of rice straw last year, of which 51 cases resulted in fines. No fines were reported in Taitung County.
In related news, some Chiayi County farmers used bird traps and dead birds in their rice fields to stop birds from eating their grain following a dry spell that led to a 40 percent reduction in land under cultivation.
Chiayi County Agriculture Department head of animal science and conservation Shui Hui-ling (石蕙菱) urged farmers to contact her agency if they need help with birds, rather than setting traps.
Killing a bird of a protected species by trapping can result in a prison sentence of six months to five years, which could be commuted to a fine of NT$200,000 to NT$1 million, she said.
People who trap a bird of a non-protected species could face a NT$60,000 to NT$300,000 fine, while people who hang dead birds could face fines of the same amount, Shui said.
Additional reporting by Tsai Tsun-hsun
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