In order to implement the cooperation project between Taiwan and Indonesia to promote the Modern Agriculture Demo Farm in Karawang (MADFK), the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture has sent 30 core farmers and officials to Taiwan for training. The Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to Taipei, the Office of Trade Negotiations of the Executive Yuan, the Council of Agriculture (COA), and Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund all dispatched staff to attend the opening ceremony for the training held today (November 2) at the COA’s Taiwan Agricultural Chemicals and Toxic Substances Research Institute, demonstrating high expectations for this training program. The COA has stated that the 15-day curriculum will lay a strong foundation for the  MADFK by assisting core farmers and officials from the Demo Farm to upgrade their ideas about agricultural technology and agribusiness management, and by sharing Taiwan’s latest agricultural knowledge and overall development experience. 

　　The COA points out that Taiwan and Indonesia signed the action plan for promoting the  Modern Agriculture Demo Farm in June of this year, and will undertake cooperation in Karawang Regency in West Java Province in five major areas: irrigation, rice cultivation, the horticulture industry, duck farming, and farmers’ organizations. The  MADFK is being jointly developed by the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture, the Karawang Regency government, and relevant authorities concerned in Taiwan. The Taiwan side will introduce Taiwan’s agricultural and irrigation technology, agricultural materials, seedlings, and agricultural machinery, as well as management models such as farmers’ associations and production-and-marketing groups. The goal is to advance agricultural technology and development in the region, and in the future to duplicate the program across all of Indonesia.

　　The COA states that Taiwan has already signed Memorandums of Understanding or agreements on agricultural cooperation with seven New Southbound Policy partner countries. By promoting the  MADFK project within the framework of Taiwan-Indonesian agricultural cooperation, it is hoped that Taiwan can assist Indonesia to upgrade its agricultural technology and increase farmers’ incomes, while at the same time facilitating the export to Indonesia of high-quality seedlings, materials, and agricultural machinery from Taiwan, thereby creating a mutually beneficial situation for the two parties.

　　The training project in Taiwan for core farmers and officials of Demo Farm in Karawang regency is one of the important activities in the MADFK project. With the main theme being the sharing of Taiwan’s agricultural experiences, it has been arranged for experts from the COA to provide explanations and practical case studies of subjects such as facilities cultivation technology, propagation of superior strains of rice, automation of the production of wet-paddy rice seedlings, post-harvest handling of rice, management of duck farming and duck product processing, and operational management of production-and-marketing groups. On-site visits have also been arranged to rural regeneration model communities, work stations and pond facilities of irrigation associations, local production-and-marketing groups for vegetables and flowers, and domestic agricultural machinery and fertilizer enterprises that intend to branch out to Indonesia. It is also expected that there will be a visit to the Taichung World Flora Exposition. It is hoped that the Indonesian trainees will be left with a deep impression of the diversified development of agriculture in Taiwan, and that the Taiwan experience will prove fruitful in assisting the development of the MADFK.