The Council of Agriculture (COA) convened on June 15 a policy conference on adjusting agriculture in response to climate changes at the National Taiwan University Hospital International Convention Center, discussing such issues as agricultural resources and ecology, industrial development, disaster prevention and rescue, energy conservation and emission reduction.

President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Wu Den-yih addressed the opening and closing ceremonies respectively, pointing out government policy directions. And after lively discussions, it is established that under the impact of global climate changes the government must formulate an adjustment strategy with “Low risk, low emission and new business opportunity” as the vision to develop Taiwan’s agriculture by upholding the policy objectives of “health, efficiency and sustainable management.”

The participants have specially brought up seven major strategies to cope the problems, including constructing a food security system based on risks, integrating science and technology to strengthen agriculture’s capability to cope with adversities, promoting low-emission agriculture, bringing into play marginal land’s ecological and flood-containing functions, enhancing farm villages’ own disaster-prevention systems, creating new low energy-consuming and low-emission business opportunities, and establishing biodiversity risk management strategy. The COA-convened meeting has formulated short-, medium- and long-term action plans according to priorities of various conclusions and will put them into practice to ensure food security and the sustainable development of Taiwan’s agriculture.

President Ma attended the conference to demonstrate that he has attached much importance to the discussed issues. He told the meeting that the impact of climate changes on human beings and species and related responses have become important global issues as well as key issues for sustainable national development. Since heavy rains and disasters brought by typhoons to Taiwan in recent years have been worse and worse, President Ma said the government should try its best to prevent and help farmers solve problems and we all should actively conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as world citizens. The president emphasized that coping climate changes is a task that requires joint efforts of all government agencies, expressing the hope that future economic growth would create job opportunities, enhance innovation capabilities, and participate regional economic organizations as well as conserve energy and reduce emissions, demonstrating the quality economic growth with Taiwan’s distinguishing characteristics.

Premier Wu noted in the conference that being one of the countries which located in areas with frequent natural disasters, Taiwan must pay attention to cope with the impact of climate changes. Agricultural policies have to take into consideration production, people’s living environment and ecology, he said. Agricultural production has to provide nutrients to sustain lives and maintain a healthy environment with producers making reasonable profits and consumers paying reasonable prices, while conserving energy and reducing emissions. People will try to safeguard the environment only when they have an affluent life, and we must keep an appropriate balance between ecology and production. And the premier expected that future promotion of quality agriculture must develop low-risk, low-emission green agriculture in combination with tourism and emerging green energy and biotechnological industries.

COA Minister Chen Wu-hsiung noted when summarizing conclusions that the conference attained 43 strategies with 208 relevant measures, providing future agricultural adjustment strategy in response to climate changes with clearer directions and more circumspect practices. The COA will formulate coping strategy with “low risk, low emission, new business opportunity” as the vision and concrete action plans based on agricultural policy guidelines of “healthy, efficient and sustainable management,” added the minister. He expressed the hope that while the risk posed by climate changes to Taiwan’s agriculture in the future will be lowered to manageable extent, agricultural production and marketing will also be adjusted gradually to become energy-conserving and low-polluting while expanding agriculture’s function of carbon sequestration. More importantly, Taiwan will create new business opportunities for agriculture and job opportunities by developing biomass energy, supplying eco-friendly green consumption and integrating innovative energy-conserving, healthy and safe green agriculture.

After summarization, the COA presented the following 7 key strategies according to importance and urgency of the conclusions reached in the conference:

1.       Establishing food security system based on risks: In addition to foods security stock, planned food production and supply mechanisms are needed for food security. A system for food alert status and regional security food reserve also are needed.

2.       Integrating science and technology to enhance agriculture’s capability of coping with adversities: research and develop draught-fighting, heat-resistant, salt-resistant and other varieties capable of coping with adversities, utilize meteorological, information-communications and other cross-disciplinary technologies in agricultural management, and safeguard biodiversity.

3.       Promoting low-carbon agriculture: Bring into play the advantage of local production, encourage local consumption and develop low-carbon agricultural products, while set up the agricultural carbon emission inventory system.

4.       Bring into play ecological and flood-containing functions of marginal land: Planning to turn flood-prune areas into wetlands or buffers against flooding; formulating protection of property rights affected by climate changes and providing necessary assistance and compensation.

5.       Strengthening farm villages’ own disaster-prevention system: Connecting national disaster-prevention systems, integrating information and communication technologies, and establishing farm village risk management system to enhance farm villages’ own disaster-prevention capability.

6.       Creating low energy-consuming, low carbon-emitting new business opportunities: Developing low energy-conserving, low carbon emission new models of agricultural operations as well as healthy and safe green agriculture.

7.       Establishing biodiversity risk management strategy: Expanding ecological and marine protection areas, constructing multiple genetic resources conservation mechanism, setting biodiversity information center, tracking species changes and safeguarding biodiversity.

The COA stressed that since climate change is a global challenge, we not only have to try to alleviate its impact and adjust to cope with the situation but also change our thinking to create niches, establish rolling strategy of adjustment and expand citizen participation. In view of the scale, frequency and other uncertainties of impact caused by climate changes, input of resources must be recognized and selected without regrets, formulate short-, medium- and long-term concrete action plans according to the priorities of conference conclusions after considering the requirements of overall development and the most appropriate use of funds, and put them into practice. The Council will uphold agricultural policy guidelines of “healthy, efficient and sustainable operations,” continuously innovate and pursue balance, turn crisis into new opportunities, and develop low risk, low carbon emission and emerging green agriculture to ensure food security and sustainable development of Taiwan’s agriculture. ( 2010-06-15)