After experiencing the difficulty in water protection of the Zhuoshui River in Changhua County, farmers know better the intangible value of farming and the joy of harvesting every grain of rice is touching. They can feel the joy of harvest, so they know better to cherish this piece of land. The rice grown in Zhuoshui River can be called the Champion of Rice. Such a good land can grow so good rice. Therefore, “Paddy Wetland Project” begins so as not to destroy this land!

Since 2013, with the assistance of “Conservation Action Project of National Important Wetland” in Construction and Planning Agency, “Paddy Wetland Project” has been developed with Tzutsaipi Ditch Association to cooperate with the research team of Endemic Species Research Institute Conservation Education Center to record and investigate the ecology of paddy land; in the end, 0.01 acre of land is acquired with reasonable price no matter how much the harvest amount is. Thus, farmers can carry out various construction experiments increasing ecological diversity in the land, without the pressure of harvest amount and avoid the necessity of using any “specific medicine”. In this way, consumers’ rights and interests can be ensured from the origin. The “Paddy Wetland Project” was carried out for the first time last year, where the ecological land was scattered in all the villages. It is different from last year that the number of farmers participating in the farming increases from 11 to 22 this spring (2013), and the specific forestation environment in the flat ground in Hsichou Township is the main construction base. A large field of paddy field surrounding the local poet of Mr. Sheng Wu’s native tree garden in Taiwan is just the uppermost production place of Shangshui Rice this year!
Source: （http://water-farmer.com.tw/about.php）　

1. Origin of name

The company producing Shangshui Rice is called “Hsichou Shangshui Water Farmer Co., Ltd.” and “Shangshui” has the meaning of “beautiful” in Taiwanese, so most of their products are named after “Shangshui”, for instance, Shangshui Purple Rice (black rice), Shangshui Rice(white rice).

2.Taste

Shangshui Rice tastes very soft and gives people a kind of unforgettable taste. In addition to taste, the appearance is also beautiful.

3.Market

After the unsafe foods are reported one after another, the “Hsichou Shangshui Rice” advocating no pesticides and no fertilizer has been preferred by the current politicians in gift giving. Mr. Sheng-lu Huang, Head of Hsichou Township uses the pruple rice of Hsichou as the souvenir of township head in inauguration. Besides, Changhua City Office also gives the gift box made of Shangshui Rice to municipal advisors, and Mr. Cheng-chi Li, Head of Huatan Township is the family subscriber of Shangshui Rice membership.

The rural writer of Ms. Yin-ning Wu who strongly promotes Shangshui Rice also says that Mr. Chien-fu Chiu, Mayor of Changhua City has ever visited the non-toxic farming land of “Shangshui Rice” with a very deep impression, and has also given the gift box of “Shangshui Rice” to municipal advisory group due to identification to the project of “Paddy Wetland”.

Mr. Sheng-lu Huang, Head of Hsichou Township also uses the small packet of purple rice as the souvenir in inauguration. Thus, more people can enjoy the local purple rice by adopting non-toxic farming.

Ms. Yin-ning Wu says: “in recent years, the unsafe foods in Taiwan appear one after another. In such situation, “Hsichou Shangshui Rice” without using the pesticide and fertilizer has been preferred by the politicians in gift giving. Meanwhile, Mr. Cheng-chi Li, Head of Huatan Township, also identifies the idea of “Hsichou Shangshui Rice” and has become the loyal subscriber of Shangshui Rice membership to support non-toxic agriculture with his own behavior.

1.Setbacks in participation

Now, the setbacks encountered by farmers are how to reduce the labor burden without using the pesticide and herbicide, and this process is very laborious. Farmers are extremely worried about how crops grow up and become both beautiful and delicious.

2.Introduction of farmers

(1)Mr. Chien-chih Hsieh

Mr.Hsieh, with 20-year rich experience says that 0.01 acre of farmland can harvest 1200 catties of rice in the previous. Until recently, after joining in Hsichou Shangshui Water Farmer Co. Ltd, such farmland can only harvest 800 catties of rice. After all, pesticide and herbicide cannot be used in the organic rice and they can remove the weed only by hand, which is very time-consuming, but they are vey persistent with the purpose of producing the purest rice in the land. In order not to make farmers loss money, Hsichou Shangshui Water Farmer Co. Ltd adopts the methods of “acquisition with ensured price”, and farmers can have the normal profits.

(2)Mr. Feng-tuan Yeh

Mr. Yeh is responsible for processing paddy and he has one small factory used for processing paddy. Mr. Yeh avoids other rice using pesticide to mix in the organic rice. Mr. Yeh says that the large-scale rice mill is required to process too large amount of rice and has to use the 60℃ of temperature for continuously baking rice so as to speed up. However, his small rice mill just needs the temperature of 55℃ for the first bake; the rice is laid aside for one or two hours for cooling down; then the second bake is done with the temperature of 45℃ until the moisture in the paddy is squeezed out. Therefore, a whole day is required to complete the processing, and he is willing to sacrifice his time so that everyone can eat the rice.

On the left side: Mr. Feng-tuan Yeh （Ref: https://www.facebook.com/love.hsichou/photos）

(3)Mr. Yuan-bao Hsieh

Mr. Hsieh is the chairman of Hsichou Township Alliance Against Water-Jacking by the CTSP as well as the farmer president of Hsichou Shangshui Water Farmer Co. Ltd. He is very fond of his hometown, never forgets the delicious Zhuoshui Rice and also remembers that the delicious Zhuoshui Rice has ever enjoyed its glory and reputation. Although Mr. Hsieh is very worried out that the paddy without using pesticides and fertilizer will not grow well, but he carefully restudies the new cultivation method to revive the glory of rice in Changhua County.

At the same time, Mr. Hsieh is a farmer who often has consideration for others. When Hsichou Shangshui Water Farmer Co. Ltd puts forward the project of acquisition with ensured price with 2W NTD, he also puts forward whether to unify one rice farming method to intensify the quality and quantity of rice.

Previously, Mr. Hsieh cannot accept the cultivation method that the pesticide and fertilizer are not used in rice filed. Under the persuasion of others, he begins to have a try. He is very earnest and responsible and he cannot bear that the growing environment of paddy is poor, so he takes care of these paddy fields with great care. On one hand, it is his hope for paddy field; on the other hand, he wants to create the same value, and he even hopes to cultivate the valuable crops by himself in the project of acquisition with ensured price.

However, with his earnest and persistent attitude, this piece of paddy field has exceeded the original “value”.

Ref: http://hsichou-farmer.blogspot.tw/2013/11/blog-post_4831.html

(4) Mr. Chiang-shui Luo

Mr. Luo, the oldest farmer participating in Paddy Wetland Project is outgoing in personality and hospitable. For this reason, his home has become the place where he and his friends get together. Every time he is requested to have the “farmer education course”, he always says jokingly and declined: “today we will have a “chatting class” at home, just like an elder farmer with childishness. For decades, Mr. Luo always grows rice with pesticide, but this time, he also tries to grow rice without using pesticide and fertilizer. Although his neighbors and friends laugh at him every time they pass his farmland, saying: “you have no money to buy fertilizer!” Mr. Luo is still not influenced by their words. He often thinks that eating rice without using pesticides and fertilizer will be healthier. Therefore, he always do farm work with the try mood.

Ref: http://hsichou-farmer.blogspot.tw/2013/11/blog-post_4555.html

Shangshui Rice has obtained the farmers’ enthusiastic support in the first session due to the promotion of “Paddy Wetland Project”; in the second session, at present, there are 10 farmers newly joining in the project and the farming area has increased from the original 7 hectares to 11 hectares. It is considered that “Shangshui Rice” has just been launched for the first session and the market reaction is vey strong, but it still needs consideration about whether it is appropriate to enlarge the farming area. If the farming areas are enlarged at will and the crops cannot be consumed by the market, probably the plan cannot continue. Therefore, careful consideration is needed.