While reporting on Post-Typhoon Morakot agricultural reconstruction achievements at a May 25 press conference at the Government Information Office, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said the devastated local agricultural sectors have been transformed and upgraded due to reconstruction efforts in combination with the development of quality agriculture under the principle of “serious destruction, great construction.”

For instance, the Council noted that the production capacity of orchids and groupers, which was seriously damaged because of heavy rains brought by Typhoon Morakot, has been recovered by over 90% and 80% in a short period and their exports have grown 20% and 2.6 times as compared with 2009 respectively.

The COA has also promoted high-efficient, eco-friendly quality agriculture by introducing highly efficient and healthy poultry and livestock production system, actively developing sea-farming, and encouraging the construction of new fish transportation vessels, which have sailed directly to Amoy in Fujian, mainland China since March 29 and created new trading opportunity for Taiwanese fishermen.

With the joint efforts by farmers and the government, the production capacity of such key agricultural sectors which were devastated during Typhoon Morakot as orchids has been restored by over 90% and orchid exports have resumed gradually. The export value of Phalaenopsis orchids totaled US$62.68 million in 2009, increasing 20% as compared with the previous year. And 80% of grouper farms have been rehabilitated. In the most heavily damaged Pingtung County, 501 hectares or 70% of grouper farms have been recovered and their export competitiveness has been greatly enhanced because they are allowed to export live groupers in new fish transportation vessels under a special project. Grouper exports stood at 4,171 metric tons with a total value of NT$1.41 billion in 2009, which were 2.6 times that of the previous year. More than 917,500 cubic meters of sand and gravel (some 46,000 loads by a 20-ton truck) had been removed from 305 hectares of fish farms along the Linbian River. Therefore, the originally planned goal of doubling orchid and grouper output value in 2014 and 2015 respectively can both be achieved in advance by 2013.

Planning and implementing the reconstruction of devastated agricultural sectors with innovative and macro-view thinking, combined with the development of quality agriculture, the Council has incorporated such ideas and practices as healthy and toxin-free, excellent and LOHAS leisure into the reconstruction work to strengthen the constitution and competitiveness of agricultural sectors and develop quality agriculture which conserves energy and affects the environment much less. For example, the COA has introduced highly efficient and healthy poultry and livestock production system and environment-controlled henhouses, encouraged the building of new fish transportation vessels, guided and assisted grouper farmers in disastrous Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties to install solar panels, and utilized innovatively seawater cooled by liquefied petroleum gas in the production process for fish farmers to reuse. All these efforts are aimed at facilitating the transformation and upgrading of Taiwan’s agriculture and laying a solid foundation for its sustainable development.