All the students of Dong Nan Joy & Hope Wheat Team wrote a letter together to invite Changhua County Magistrate, Mr. Ming-ku Wei
Contents of the letter
Dear County Mayor Mr,Wei,
We are a group of middle school students studying away from home. We would like to take advantage of the opportunity of participating in 2015 Cyberfair to introduce our own home--- Changhua County’s wheat cultivation and Joy & Hope Wheat. In order to better understand Dacheng’s wheat cultivation, we grew wheat fields in a corner of the campus by ourselves for the purpose of experiencing the true life the wheat farmers. We also visited Joy & Hope Wheat and got a real, concrete and deep understanding.
In order to make the introduction more cautious, deep and broad, we wish to pay a visit to the county mayor and consult his views on agricultural policy, development plan of agricultural sightseeing, wheat farming technology as well as how to promote the features and values of Dacheng’s wheat sightseeing.
We earnestly hope that you can accept our invitation. Many thanks.
Yours sincerely,
Ten students from Dong Nan Junior High School’s Art Classes in Changhua
You Wu Yu-han Lou Hsiang-yun Cho Hsin-ju Chen Yu-ling Hsiao
Hsin-tsen Wang Pin-ling Chen Yu-ting Tseng Yu-ching Hsu Rou-pei Lin
Below is the interview record with Magistrate Ming-ku Wei of Changhua County. For your information.
1. What is the plan for Changhua’s agricultural policies and agricultural sightseeing development?
With regard to Changhua’s agricultural economy policies, we have come up with:
1. Subsidize for the purchase of small agricultural equipment, no more than 50 thousand NTD.
2. Offer free food material localization for primary schools and Junior High Schools. “Where grown, where sold.” This will make students more assured about their food safety and guarantee the set sales of agricultural products.
3. build a quick pesticide residue test mechanism at the place of production; teach farmers to use pesticide safely.
4. Teach farmers to produce organic vegetables and fruits without pesticide and compete for overseas market.
5. Set up auctions for agricultural products, establish storage, transport and marketing center, safeguard the interest of farmers
6. Use network technology to implement survey on agriculture conditions and avoid over-supply and price smash.
7. Found agricultural entrepreneur institute and encourage young people to devote to the agriculture industry.
8. Establish online production and marketing platform; sell local food material and agricultural products.
9.promote “titles of excellent agricultural products ”, forge “Changhua brands”, push forward Changhua’s quality agriculture
Changhua is an impotent agricultural county. Its vegetables, fruits, flowers and grains all have a great share in Taiwan. But the county is made of plains and hills, lacking mountainous scenery to draw tourists. So it has to return to agriculture. Changhua develops its agricultural sightseeing through the “six levels of industrialization”, which means the first level of agricultural production × the second level of agricultural processing× the third level of agricultural service. The first level focuses on non-pesticide agriculture and the spirit of “where grown, where sold”. It invites the tourists to experience agricultural production, like rice transplanting, rice harvesting, fruit picking and oyster picking. Combined with farmers’ guide and explanation, the tourists can gain insight into the food materials and learn to cherish the ecosystem and the land. They will then reduce the carbon emission in agriculture transport and sales. The second level is about agricultural souvenirs and DIY experience. Agricultural processing can solve the unbalance between production and sales increase added value. It is also the most tasty and content to eat DIY food. The third level is about accommodation experience and food services in villages. It extends the tourists’ stay in agriculture or fishing villages. The longer they stay, the more money they spend, the better it can create the value of agricultural sightseeing.
Changhua now has 2 leisure agricultural areas, over 20 leisure farms and many distinct agricultural and fishing areas. Currently the county is coaching potential bsinesses and helping to make transition into the agricultural sightseeing industry. Through the building of roads and setting up Youbike, it has better traffic. It connected the scattered scenic spots into threads and threads then become belts, blossoming into extraordinary tourist attractions.
2. What are your thoughts about CSA?
With globalization, cross-national food materials have enjoyed mass production, transport and sales, impacting many countries’ local industries. Taiwan is no exception. After self-examination, there is a movement called “where grown, where sold”. It encourages customers to buy local food materials and shorten the food mileage. Western countries and Japan have even used communities to set up the “Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)” mode.
“CSA” comes from Japan and Sweden. It is a group of people buying agricultural products from farmers before the harvest season. “CSA” includes farms, agricultural cooperatives and agricultural companies.
Direct selling of agricultural products has become a global trend. In our nation, the direct selling of agricultural products is mainly developed in fairs by farmers. In recent years, agricultural administrative parties have endeavored to develop leisure agriculture. Although the local agriculture industry has benefited, we still have a long way to go in the support of agriculture compared with that of the US. In 1976, US passed the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing Act. Its aim was to increase the rate of products that were sold directly to the customers. US also promoted the development of CSA through the concerted work of federal government and the local communities. According to the research report from the National Restaurant Association, 88% of US chefs used local food materials.
The direct selling of agricultural products has become an important link in community food safety. Customers can know more about the products when they buy directly from farmers. So they are more assured about their food safety. It can also reduce the food mile and reduce the pollution produced during transport, as well as the transport cost. So the rate of farmers’ income can be increased. It also helps to energize the agricultural society and provide support to the sustainable development of agriculture.
To the farmers, the schools are large and dependable markets. Now our county is promoting the free localization of lunch materials and “where grown, where sold”. This is one way to promote CSA. It also can be promoted in other ways of direct selling, like the fairs, governments, cantinas and online selling. Customers buying directly from farmers can reduce cost and enhance farmers’ incomes.
3. What are your thoughts about the wheat contracts in Changhua ?
According to the Council of Agriculture, the latest data in 2013 Food Supply and Demand Report, issued in the October of 2014 shows that the self-sufficiency rate in Taiwan is 33%. The use of rice continued to fall. In 2013, one person ate 44.96kgs, the lowest in 10 years. At the same time, more and more people like to eat breads and noodles. On person eat 36.14 on average. These breads and noodles are mainly made from wheat. Since 2008, the oil price has been at a high level for 6 or 7 years. The global warming and climate anomaly reduced the wheat yields. The import price is over 18 TND per kg. All these factors made us consider the possibility of producing wheat on our own. In Japanese rein, Changhua had grown wheat. In 1967, the government allowed for the import of American wheat. The big area of cultivation and mass-scale reduced US’s cost. But Taiwan’s cost remained high and as not able to compete with imported ones. So the cultivation area declined. Before the Council of Agriculture promoted the plan to energize the land to grow grain, Taiga in Taichung had 50-60 hectares and Xuejia in Tainan had 20-30 hectares that were in cooperation with Kinmen Winery. They provided the farmers in Kinmen with seeds to sow in winter. The winery purchased it at a guaranteed price for the production of Kaoliang spirit. Now we see that Joy & Hope Wheat have contracts with Dacheng Township farmers to grow wheat. It is very rare. It can add scenery to the winter of Dacheng Township and guarantee the farmers’ incomes. It is a win-win result.
4. What are your thoughts about Joy & Hope Wheat Workshop pushing forward the grain production in Taiwan?
Joy & Hope Wheat Workshop started to work with Dacheng Township farmers 2-3 years ago. We carried out the contract and “Joy & Hope Fantasy”. Through ground visit and record, consoling and interviews, we set our base for wheat production management. Joy & Hope uses friendly environment and does not catch birds or use pesticide, chemical fertilizers. We do not clean the land so land management is easy. We use rice harvesters and do not have to buy new ones. Joy & Hope Bakery’s contracted farmers have the same consensus and self-requirements, which make Joy & Hope Wheat, contract a friendly culture. We care a lot for the farmers growing environment. We developed affections with the farmers. Our Dacheng wheat has an area of over 180 hectares. Besides originally well-known sweet potatoes and peanuts, wheat has now become Dacheng Township’s newly-developed product. The flour made from Dashing wheat can be then made into breads with amazing flavor. It is never forgettable once you bite it.
5. How to promote the features and values of Dacheng Wheat “edible landscape” sightseeing?
Dacheng Wheat has an area of over 180 hectares. If you walk in the farm track during the December to the January the next year in Dacheng Township, you can see the golden ears of wheat swaying now and then. This is a great opportunity to develop leisure agriculture. We will make use of the quality industries in the county and actively guide the farmers to join the leisure and sightseeing industries. With the farmers’ support, we will transform the traditional agriculture to become green ecological industry and leisure sightseeing services. Then, the agriculture will become an important local industry and inject new energy to the villages.
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