A draft bill of the “plant therapist act” (植物診療師法) yesterday passed a preliminary review at the legislature’s Economics Committee, with Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) saying that once passed, the ministry would recruit and accredit 300 “plant therapists” annually, starting from next year at the earliest.
The bill has been under debate for several years. After the Economics Committee passed a preliminary review on the draft “plant doctor act” on Nov. 24, 2022, medical associations raised objections to the term “plant doctor.”
Agricultural academics agreed to change the term to “plant therapist” in September last year, leading to the Ministry of Agriculture proposing the revised bill to the Executive Yuan the next month.
Photo: Taipei Times
The Cabinet last month submitted the draft to the Legislative Yuan.
During the committee’s review, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said that a stipulation that penalties for plant therapists’ contraventions be imposed by local government should instead be determined by the Ministry of Agriculture to avoid different standards among local governments.
The ministry agreed and added it in an incidental resolution.
After more than four hours of review, the committee approved the bill, with the committee convener ruling that it would not need to undergo cross-party negotiations and could proceed to voting.
The ministry has been waiting eight years for the passage of the act, which is the first step in helping farmers use pesticides more precisely, especially as extreme climate changes are causing plant diseases and pest outbreaks to become more severe, Chen Junne-jih said.
Plant therapists can help farmers understand the growth conditions of their crops and the precision application of pesticides to improve agricultural food safety, he said, adding that he looks forward to the act being passed in this legislative session.
The ministry has informally discussed the eligibility and examination subjects for plant therapists with the Examination Yuan, and if passed, it would hopefully recruit and accredit the first batch of plant therapists through a national exam next year, he said.
The ministry said it plans to recruit about 300 plant therapists per year, but the exact quota would be based on demand from local governments, Chen Junne-jih said.
The ministry would work with local governments and agricultural groups to promote the plant-therapist system, and schools with agriculture-related departments would also encourage students to register for the exam, he said.
Regarding the assignment of plant therapists, he said if few people are willing to travel to rural areas or outlying islands, the ministry might offer incentives to encourage them, adding that he is optimistic, as he has heard that many students are willing to work in those places.
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