The nation is about 31 percent food self-sufficient and can last for three months in any national security threat, Council of Agriculture Minister Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) said yesterday during a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
The council hopes to elevate the figure to 40 percent by 2020 through its Great Granary Program, Lin said in response to questions from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲).
Due to changes to dietary habits, domestic supply of rice has exceeded demand, Lin said, adding that the council is working to adjust the production levels of different produce.
Under the program, the council is seeking to increase grain production by 300,000 tonnes and the production area by 30,000 hectares before 2020, while helping rice farmers grow other produce such as sweet potatoes, soybean, buckwheat and corn, he said.
Legislators on the Economics Committee raised concerns about the council’s ability to protect farmland.
The nation should have about 740,000 to 810,000 hectares of farmland to guarantee food supplies, but only 684,819 hectares are usable, council data from August showed.
New Power Party Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) asked Lin to clarify his position on Taiwan Sugar Corp’s (Taisugar) land use, considering that half of the utility’s property is quality farmland.
“Quality farmland should be reserved for agricultural use, especially that of Taisugar,” Lin said.
The council supports the Environmental Protection Administration’s proposal that development on Taisugar land larger than 1 hectare should undergo an environmental impact assessment, he added.
However, some of Taisugar’s land is in urban areas and not necessarily quality farmland, Lin said, adding that the council would respect other authorities’ decisions regarding development.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chang Li-shan (張麗善) criticized the council’s failure to tackle banana overproduction, as there are still 70,000 tonnes of bananas to be sold, despite the government’s purchase of 1,200 tonnes.
The production area of bananas was severely damaged by typhoons last year, but production this year has grown 20 percent, causing prices to plummet.
Lin said that the council would help farmers access information through the council’s production and marketing platform, so they would know next year’s price to adjust production.
Cabbage and dragon fruit are also likely to be overproduced in the fourth quarter, he said, adding that the council is closely observing their production.
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday established a friendship group with their counterparts in Ukraine to promote parliamentary exchanges between the two countries. A ceremony in Taipei for the Taiwan-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Association, initiated by DPP Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷), was attended by lawmakers and officials, including Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) and European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan Director Lutz Gullner. The increasingly dire situation in Ukraine is a global concern, and Taiwan cannot turn its back when the latter is in need of help, as the two countries share many common values and interests,
RSS