The four-day “BIO Asia-Taiwan Exhibition” opened on July 28 at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Hall 2. The Council of Agriculture (COA) set up an “Agricultural Technology Pavilion,” where the latest R&D accomplishments of the COA’s District Agricultural Research and Extension Stations, Agricultural Technology Research Institute (ATRI), and cooperative work with domestic colleges and universities were on display. These demonstrated the successful promotion of the industrialization of integrated cross-disciplinary agricultural technology and innovations. Each day during the event, there were “quiz contests with prizes” and “product sharing” activities on stage, in the hopes that visitors to the Exhibition would be in a relaxed and happy mood as they learned about agricultural technology.

Connecting the Asian biotechnology value chain, developing sustainable new agriculture with cross-disciplinary integration

The COA points out that in accordance with the theme of the 2022 BIO Asia-Taiwan Exhibition—“Connecting the Asian value chain” for biotechnology—the “Agricultural Technology Pavilion” was focused on “forward-looking innovation, sustainable net zero, and safety and peace of mind,” with four themed areas: “efficient production, innovative agriculture”; “sustainable prosperity, net zero agriculture”; “eco-friendly and safe agriculture”; and the “special area for industrialized R&D.” The Pavilion displayed 35 innovative technologies and results of industry-academia cooperation in the fields of farming, forestry, fisheries, animal husbandry, and animal and plant disease prevention and testing.

Given the rapid changes in the larger environment in recent years, there has been R&D of new agricultural technology products and new technologies that combine innovation, net zero, and safety, with the hope of upgrading market competitiveness and enhancing international visibility in the post-pandemic era. Highlights on display at this Exhibition included “the technology for ripening and whole fruit freezing of atemoya,” which will help successfully promote exports of atemoya; the “tractor with attached hanging tea planting machine,” which will save labor and costs in tea farming; “high value pineapple fiber paper,” which is handmade paper made from agricultural waste materials; the eco-friendly “phenol-formaldehyde wood preservatives derived from forest residue”; the “propagation and collection machine for rice moths,” which will enhance biological control; and the “new green lacewing eggs release method in strawberry pest control,” which uses automated intelligent production technology. Such items, which all are based on the concepts of innovative agricultural development and net zero sustainability, are exciting products with high expectations.

Special area for industrialized R&D, unlimited commercial opportunities through R&D capabilities

In order to demonstrate Taiwan’s high capabilities in commercializing R&D of agricultural technology, in addition to displaying ATRI’s multiple agricultural technology industrialization services platforms and explaining how they assist in successfully commercializing, industrializing, and internationalizing results of agricultural R&D, there were also displays the results of cooperation between academic institutions and business under the COA’s AgTech program. Looking at  AgTech program for agricultural industry for example, each NT$1 in subsidies provided by the government on average drives direct investment of NT$1.55 by enterprises and creates NT$7.68 in production value. At this year’s Exhibition, the DoYouBo Industry Company, Fwusow Industry, and Advanced Green Biotechnology Incorporated displayed results of R&D projects conducted by them that have potential for internationalization. The COA’s “Agricultural Technology Pavilion” displayed concrete results of guidance policies from upstream R&D to downstream industrialization. It is hoped that through this year’s simultaneous in-person and online Exhibition, citizens will get to know more about the abundant achievements of agricultural technology R&D in Taiwan and such technology can be marketed to the world.