According to the Council of Agriculture Statistics, there were about 200,000 hectares of fallow land in 2011. In order to ensure the nation's food security and to adjust to global climate change, the Council launched the "Cultivation System Adjustment and Fallow Land Reactivation Program" in 2013 which encourages the reactivation of fallow lands to the production of import-substitute, export-oriented, local specialties, as well as organic products. 　　

The Council pointed out that about 88,000 hectares of fallow lands have been reactivated since the promotion of the program. With a reactivation rate of 65%, 31,000 hectares of lands have been reactivated out of 48,000 hectares of continuous fallow lands in one single cropping area. Financially, this year's fallow and crop rotation expenditures decreased as much as NTD 2 billion compared to that of 2011, while the entire production value increased to NTD 17.8 billion at the same time.

In 2013, about 88,000 hectares of fallow lands have been reactivated, as a result, increasing production value and stimulating the development of Taiwan's agricultural industries. 　　

The Council of Agriculture indicated that the farmland reactivation program was first put into action from the first cropping period of 2013. Central and local governments as well as agricultural organizations and groups have teamed up to achieve the following results in just two cropping periods this year: 1. declared fallow land area decreased from 200,000 hectares in 2011 to 112,000 this year, 2. declared crop rotation area increased from 72,000 hectares in 2011 to 125,000 hectares this year. The latter is mostly dedicated to the production of local characteristic crops, such as forage corn, forage, and silage corn. 　　

The Council further explained that from the total fallow land reactivation production value of NTD 17.84 billion increased this year, among them, NTD 12.48 billion is attributed to the agricultural products, while NTD 2.25 billion is coming from other related businesses such as seed supply, and NTD 3.11 billion belongs to production value created by related industries such as transportation, processing for their products. On the other hand, 31,000 hectares out of 48,000 hectares of continuous fallow lands have been reactivated this year. The total reactivation rate reaches 65% which far exceeds the program's original target. 　　

The Council of Agriculture indicated that more than 8,000 hectares of reactivated fallow lands have been used to produce rice. In order to maintain the balance between supply and demand of rice in the country, the Council will put more effort in assisting farmers to select adequate crops according to location condition of the land. The Council will also actively develop rice related processed foods, and plan rice processing zone, as well as foment the production of quality rice varieties, thus, uplifting the overall quality of Taiwan's rice.

Reinforcement of implementation leading to continuous promotion of fallow land reactivation

The Council of Agriculture stated that the results for this year's follow land reactivation program have exceeded proposed objectives. The program has increased food self-sufficiency by 0.6% and has also created additional economic value. In order to steadily promote reactivation of fallow lands, the Council's present task is to review current situation and adjust next year's implementation accordingly. Thus, more subsidized rotation crops can be at farmers' disposal while partially simplifying operational procedures. This will result in more farmers' participation and increase the program's effectiveness.