Camellia oil farms in the Dananao Plain (大南澳平原) in Yilan County have increased to 17.8 hectares over the past eight years as part of local efforts to promote the “green gold” sector.
Camellia oil, also known as tea seed oil and “Oriental olive oil,” has become popular among Taiwanese after a tainted oil scandal in 2014 that prompted the public to be more vigilant in their oil use.
In 2016, 11 farmers began growing 3,000 oil-seed camellia trees over 5 hectares and obtained the support of a local company named Cha Tzu Tang, which signed a contract with them to purchase their harvests.
Photo courtesy of Yilan County Suao Township’s camellia oil production and marketing group
Cha Tzu Tang purchased their camellia fruit at guaranteed prices to produce camellia oil and assisted in marketing and promotion by developing bath products made from camellia oil.
The profits generated by the camellia oil farms have attracted more farmers to get involved.
The popularity of the product has increased thanks to the quality of the camellia fruit grown by eco-friendly farming methods.
Photo courtesy of Yilan County Suao Township’s camellia oil production and marketing group
The first production and marketing group for camellia oil was set up earlier this month in Yilan County’s Suao Township (蘇澳) after the total area of camellia oil farms in the region exceeded the threshold of 10 hectares, and more than 40 people from the government, academia and industries participated in the founding ceremony, which was a milestone in the nation’s development of the camellia oil industry.
Ten thousand oil-seed camellia trees were planted in the region, with those grown in Jhaoyang Community (朝陽社區) accounting for the biggest portion with more than 6,000 trees covering 11 hectares, projected to yield a camellia fruit harvest of up to 40 tonnes every year.
Chen Yu-ting (陳昱廷), head of Suao Township’s camellia oil production and marketing group, on Saturday said that 20 farmers have joined camellia oil farming in Dananao, and the group would assist them in procuring farm chemicals and machinery, management, and education and training to enhance their production quality.
The group would also continue to cultivate successors of younger generations and introduce mechanized farming methods, to transform the camellia oil-producing region into one of Yilan County’s local features, he said.
Another key issue would be sourcing water due to the impact of rising temperatures, Chen said.
Irrigation routes would be renewed and smart monitoring technology would be introduced to facilitate precision irrigation to cope with extreme weather conditions, while organic accreditations and a traceability system would be implemented to make camellia oil one of Taiwan’s signature oil products, he said.
Suao Township Farmers’ Association chief of staff Huang Tsan-jan (黃燦然) said the township has many agricultural products, such as oranges, cantaloupes, watermelons and chilis that have been the focus of promotion.
As the contractual farming area of oil-seed camellia trees has expanded to more than 17 hectares, the production and marketing group would help communicate with the government on behalf of the farmers to support the industry, expecting to make camellia fruit an important Suao Township cash crop, he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS