Taiwanese orchid farms generated more than NT$7 billion (US$215 million) in revenues out of a total of NT$19 billion created by the nation’s floriculture industry, yet the future of orchid farmers is less bright than the raw figures would suggest, the Taiwan Orchid Breeders Society said.
Association secretary-general Yang Yi-ping (楊怡萍) on Saturday said the nation’s orchid breeders are predominantly elderly farmers who are having trouble passing on the torch and a generational faultline would most likely come into being in a decade’s time.
Though young people are recruited into the profession, breeding a cultivar of orchids takes about six years on average, compelling many farms to start buying from foreign sources, Yang said, adding that the practice endangered the key advantage of cultivar development.
Photo: Lee Wen-te, Taipei Times
Stimulating domestic demand is one of the main ways to bolster the orchid industry, since exports already make up 85 percent of the trade’s income, she said.
Cultivar research and development are foundational to floriculture and Taiwanese farmers created about 50 patented cultivars last year and the same in the year before, Agriculture and Food Agency Fruit and Flower Industry Division deputy chief Hung Hung-yi (洪宏毅) said.
The agency’s priorities of helping the orchid industry consist of measures to enhance research and development capabilities, recruiting people from academia, protecting intellectual property and promoting international sales through hosting expos, he said.
To boost domestic demand, the agency and the Taiwan Orchid Breeders Society on Saturday jointly hosted an event promoting sacrificial orchids for temple rites.
The event, which spotlighted the use of An Ching Orchids’ cultivar called Little Apple as an offering for peace and tranquility, was held at Fuhsin Temple in Yunlin’s Siluo Township (西螺), where bouquets were distributed to the faithful attending religious services.
All proceeds from the sale of orchids at the event are to be donated to the St Joseph Social Welfare Foundation, an association spokesperson said.
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against
Police officers yesterday morning apprehended the prime suspect of a triple homicide case, after raiding the suspect’s hideout in Taichung. They transported the suspect to New Taipei City for questioning and recorded his statement last night. The suspect, identified as a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), is believed to have used his hands to strangle his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), 29, along with his three-year-old son from a previous marriage and his wife’s mother, 69. The three dead bodies were wrapped in blankets when they were discovered inside their apartment in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) on Saturday. Chang was holding a
STRIKING A BALANCE: A nutritionist said that only 9 percent of respondents were concerned whether they had a sufficient balance of vegetables and fruits Nearly 60 percent of respondents said that they are affected physically and mentally due to lack of a regular breakfast routine, while only 9 percent ate a balanced diet, a Formosa Cancer Foundation survey showed. Thirty percent of respondents do not eat breakfast at home, saying it is more expedient to buy it, said Hsu Kuei-ting (徐桂婷), the foundation’s nutritionist, citing its most recent poll on nutritional intake for people aged 20 to 60. The poll showed that 60 percent believe they do not eat breakfasts that have balanced nutrition. At 62 percent, convenience was the most commonly cited factor in deciding whether