Representatives of Taiwan and the Vatican on Friday celebrated the first harvest from a new indoor farming facility, which the two sides said would showcase the role of technology in developing more sustainable agriculture.
Ambassador to the Holy See Matthew Lee (李世明) toured the farm on the grounds of the Opera Nazionale Per Le Citta’ Dei Ragazzi, Italian for “City of Youth,” a Catholic foundation that provides educational opportunities and career training to young immigrants and refugees.
The foundation, which is located on a 60-hectare complex in southwestern Rome, has over the past few years served as a testing ground for many of the Vatican’s environmental initiatives.
Photo: CNA
The project was inspired by Pope Francis’ second encyclical letter, Laudato Si, in which he calls for a decisive global response to the threats of environmental damage and climate change, Lee said.
In the spirit of the pontiff’s appeal, Taiwan leveraged its strengths in precision agriculture technologies, and sent a team of agronomists and engineers to help the foundation launch the farm in only three months, Lee said.
“We hope this facility will serve as an example to promote the concept of smart agriculture more broadly in Italy,” he said.
Foundation chairman Vincenzo Cappannini said that Taiwan’s commitment to the project was particularly meaningful given the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and the obstacles it has created for international exchanges.
Lin Chun-hui (林峻輝), an agriculture expert from Taoyuan’s YesHealth iFarm who helped design the farm, said that in spite of the difficulties — such as mandatory quarantines and the language barrier — the project was worth the effort.
To celebrate its first harvest, the foundation invited Taiwanese representatives and volunteers at the project to an Italian meal prepared with herbs and vegetables grown on the farm.
YesHealth is a leader in vertical farming, a method of grow ing produce in vertically stacked shelves inside factory-like facilities that allow for temperature, lighting and water control. This method has gained popularity as it produces high yields on small ares of land, while saving water resources and minimizing the need for environmentally harmful fertilizers and pesticides.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS