The Council of Agriculture (COA) held the “2017 AARDO Workshop on Aquaculture Technology and Industry Developent” in Taiwan from September 18 to 22. AARDO Secretary-General Eng. Wassfi Hassan El-Sreihin and nearly 20 agriculture and fisheries officials and researchers from the AARDO Secretariat and member countries to come to Taiwan to attend. Through speeches and on-site visits, the event furthered the understanding of attending national representatives toward Taiwan’s aquaculture technology and industry development. There were also exchanges and discussions with Taiwanese aquaculture business people, with the aim of developing potential export markets for Taiwan’s fisheries industry.

　　The COA states that AARDO was established in 1962 and currently has 31 member countries. The purpose of its founding was to eradicate illiteracy, hunger, poverty, and disease in countries in the Asian and African regions, and to encourage rural construction and development. Taiwan joined this organization in 1968 under the name “Republic of China,” and has several times been elected to the Executive Committee, and in fact is currently an Executive Committee member for 2015-2017. Taiwan annually cooperates with the AARDO to hold relevant activities and capacity-building projects, including education and training, inviting experts to come to Taiwan for learning and research, and international conferences. This is the second year Taiwan cooperated with AARDO to hold a learning activity in Taiwan about fisheries technology.

　　According to data from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in 1974 the production of aquaculture accounted for only 7% of total production of aquatic products.With the steady decline in ocean fisheries resources, the importance of aquaculture in the overall fisheries production system has steadily grown, and in 2014 the percentage of total fisheries production accounted for aquaculture reached 45%. Because Taiwan has experienced aquatic breeding and aquaculture technology, despite the fact that there is only limited area for fish-farming, Taiwan still stands 12^th in the world’s production. Taiwan has abundant experience in aquaculture, and continually to develope innovative technology, and the aquaculture industry has already spread to mainland China and Southeast Asian countries, which is the reason AARDO specially invited Taiwan to share its experience in industry development with member countries.

　　The COA emphasizes that during this Workshop, besides undertaking discussions and exchanges about related issues, it also arranged for country representatives to visit the COA’s Fisheries Research Institute, Addiction Aquatic Development, the Taipei Fish Market and its affiliated transport and marketing company, a shallow-flats milkfish aquaculture operation, a grouper aquaculture operation, the ECOTEK Company, Sheng-Diao Aquatic Technology, Jy Lin Trading (an ornamental fish exporter), and the Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park, in hopes of strengthening cooperation and technology exchanges with fisheries industries in AARDO member states. This workshop not only enhance Taiwan’s contributions to AARDO,but also hope to increase the development of potential export markets for Taiwan’s fisheries industry.

　　The COA points out that there were officials came to Taiwan from “New Southbound Policy” countries to participate in this Workshop. The Taiwan government anticipates that this is one way Taiwan can carry out and promote the New Southbound Policy, and, on the basis of reciprocal and mutual benefit, further the prosperous development of the regional fisheries industry.

The African-Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO) Workshop on Aquaculture Technology and Industry Development, 2017.