(1) Training Excellent Agricultural Human Resources

The COA conducted mid-/short-term professional agricultural training classes for youths in the rural areas in coordination with the focal points of agricultural development, to train them to become outstanding farmers with an international outlook and professional skills, and thereby to boost the competitiveness of agriculture. Training covered vegetables, mushrooms, organic agriculture, flowers, fruit trees, special crops, seedlings, agricultural materials, livestock, recreational farm, and agribusiness management.

The most up to date professional technology, corporatization management, and marketing strategies were provided in the training courses, to help young farmers to utilize their agricultural knowledge, improve their business efficiency, and develop marketing channels. A total of 1,899 people had completed the training in the 66 classes conducted. Furthermore, the COA held 225 agricultural information and Internet skill training classes attended by 4,430 people in order to strengthen capability of farmers in gathering information. The COA assisted 5 new established regional teaching centers, conducted 33 training classes on agricultural extension manpower, innovative marketing, and digital seed staff that was attended by 1,077 people to amplify the effect of agricultural extension. The COA assisted non-professional farmers to learn second skills. About 2,700 people attended 90 second-skill training classes on local snack making, Chinese cooking, Western cooking, beverage preparation, wine mixing, and baking, the COA also assisted 743 people obtained occupational licenses. In coordination with fisheries development and upgrade the quality of fishing manpower, the COA conducted 335th fishing boat crew training sessions and 13,347 people completed the training. Training included familiarizing with fishing regulations such as fishing in foreign waters, current fishing situation, the International Sea Treaty, sea survival skills, on-board fire fighting, and emergency rescue and life raft operation. The COA further held training classes for fishing management staff by giving lectures on specific topics related to international affairs and regulations, international fishing negotiations and dispute resolution, international treaties and fishing boat inspection, international fishing cooperation, business management techniques, and international fisheries management to improve their management knowledge and skills.　

(2) Set Up Health and Living Support System in Farm Villages

The COA conducted 244 classes for better living of senior citizens in the farm villages.There were 14,587 senior citizens benefited from this service, providing their improved welfare, better health, protection, and career planning were realized, and improved their adaptability to new lifestyles. About 433 farm family members received nursing aide training and acquired nursing aide certificate, and 117 of them had found jobs and the rest were working as volunteers or nursing their family, easing the burden of farm families in taking care of their disabled dear ones.

The COA continuously assisted 26 primary-level farmers' associations that provide long-term attention to areas short of resources to set up rural community support centers. About 650 volunteers were selected and trained to serve farming families, provide information, consultations, referral services, and look after solitary senior citizens. The COA also trained 150 volunteers to visit 602 disabled farm families to understand their needs, get familiar and utilize various government and private long-term care resources to help rural families to get through difficult times. The COA assisted 220 primary- level farmers' associations to strengthen the function of the home economics classes by providing classes on life-long care, teach farm families about chronic diseases and physical examination, prevent complications and disabilities, and establish a healthy living habits and maintain health.

A total of 57,667 farm families benefited from these classes and programs. The COA also provided life-long care education and promoted the concept of hospice, aroused the younger generation to feel concerned, care for, and support their elders, encouraged younger people to learn nursing aide service, create a barrier-free living environment, and encouraged senior citizens to accept preventive care, life adjustment, and recreation services while fulfilling the ideal of aging at home. The COA further helped the Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan and Ilan county farmers' associations to hold life-long care experience sharing forums attended by 489 people.

(3) Revitalizing Rural Community Organizations

In 2004 the COA assisted farmers' associations in 97 cities, towns, and townships to join forces with local farmers' organizations and community development associations to establish learning organizations, fully exercise their organizational functions, and jointly map out community development prospectuses, allowing residents to develop their own communities.

The COA selected 7 model towns and townships, assigned voluntary specialists to provide consulting services and assistance, and formed 5 community mutual assistance teams. Specialists helped community residents to plan and develop the special characteristic of their communities. Furthermore, the COA also conducted 5 conferences for rural community mutual assistance teams, 5 community organization integration workshops, 2 international conferences on "rural revival through village mutual assistance," and 4 regional workshops. In order to revitalize rural youth organizations, the COA provided assistance to 151 town and township organization, including 13 county or city farmers' association, 19 domestic towns and townships, 4-H clubs, with 28,977 participants in 971 4-H club in organizing various workshops, training, public services in member communities, workshops and experience-sharing camps. To train outstanding rural youths, the COA conducted 11 batches of 4-H youth leadership camps, leadership pre-camp training, volunteer staff training, 4-H club volunteer camp high-level staff training, 4-H club volunteer camp beginning training, 4-H club volunteer camp advanced training, 4-H club operation team management training, 4-H club operation proposal writing classes, and university and college student rural service programs.

(4) Management Assistance to Farmers' and Fishermen's Groups

In 2004, The COA completed the revision of the "Farmers' Association Evaluation Regulations," "Farmers' Association Capital Funding or Investment Review Regulations," "Farmers' Association Chairman Selection Regulations," "Farmers' Association Personnel Management Regulations," and "Farmers' Association Director and Supervisor Candidate Agricultural Qualifications Determination and Review Regulations." The COA assisted 36 farmers" and fishermen's associations whose credit departments were taken over to develop services for farmers and fishermen in order to increase their income. By the end of 2004, these 36 farmers' and fishermen's associations increased their operating income by 11% compared to the end of 2003.

The COA engaged experts in organization, finance, legal affairs, marketing, cultural innovation, and agricultural extension to form consultant groups assisting the farmers associations in Mituo, Paiho, Tungshih, Fuhsing, Shihmen, and Luchou by conducting diagnosis, team development, professional training, troubleshooting, service improvement, and innovation planning for these associations, and draw out a procedural handbooks and operating guidelines. The COA held 2 liaison meetings of supervisory staff in the various governmental farmers' associations, 3 workshops on financial operation regulations for farmers' associations, and 4 seminars on electoral procedures of farmers associations in the provincial-level. The COA provided NT$2.026 billion membership subsidy to 15 irrigation associations, and provided NT$500 million special subsidy to 6 irrigation associations with spe-cial financial difficulties, including the Nantou Irrigation Association. The COA also assisted irrigation associations in developing their existing irrigation facilities, water resources, and managerial expertise, and promoted business diversification, financial autonomy, and expanded service scope. The COA held 10 fishing management and technological workshops to improve fishing management skills.

The COA engaged 20 fishing extension education professors to conduct 35 consulting workshops for fishermen's associations, which were advantageous in assisting fishermen to resolve issues on fishing technology and in promoting modernization management. The COA sponsored the "2004 Oceanic Taiwan," a nationwide recreational fishing elite management class, assisting fishermen's associations to develop recreational fishing, and assisted 7 district fishermen's associations to establish direct marketing centers for fisheries products in order to develop the direct marketing of marine products.

(5) Establishing an Autonomous Agricultural Finance System

The Agricultural Finance Law, based on the consensus reached at the "National Conference on Agricultural Finance," was promulgated on January 30, 2004, and the COA Agricultural Finance Bureau was officially established on the same day.

The Agricultural Finance Bureau is in charge of creating a comprehensive and secure agricultural finance system, planning and implementing policy-type special agricultural loans, providing operating funds needed for agricultural development, and assisting in the preparation of establishing the Agricultural Bank of Taiwan. As for the establishment of the Agricultural Bank of Taiwan, the Agricultural Finance Bureau has already raised NT$20 billion payment shares, completed the formulation of the bank's articles of incorporation, organizational framework and information system, and confirmed location and lease of the headquarters and election of directors and supervisors. The Agricultural Bank of Taiwan is expected to begin formal operation at the second quarter of 2005. The COA announced the "Guidelines for the Determination and Disposition of Disputed Assets Credit Department Assigned to Banks by Farmers' and Fishermen's Association" in coordination with the Financial Supervisory Commission of the Executive Yuan on July 30, 2004.

These guidelines effectively resolve disputes concerning assets from 36 Farmers' and Fishermen's Associations whose credit departments were taken over by banks. The COA assumed control of the Credit Department of Hsinpi Township Farmers' Association in Pingtung County in accordance with the Agricultural Finance Law on December 17, 2004, and implemented a merger with the Nanchou Township Farmers' Association in Pingtung County in accordance with related regulations. By the end of December 2004, the non-performing loan (NPL) rate of the credit departments of all farmers' and fishermen's associations was 14.46%, a decrease of 3.11% compared to the end of 2003, showing a gradually improvement in its management system.

The COA conducted 49 agricultural finance training sessions to enhance the quality of agricultural banking staff with the participation of 3,515 staff, effectively upgrading the professionalism of banking staff. Aside from reducing the annual interest rates on 9 types of policy-oriented special agricultural loans from 5.25% and 4.25% to 2% and 1.5% respectively, loan terms were softened. The COA also introduced 6 new special agricultural loans, increasing at least 58,744 benefited clients. The outstanding balance of special agricultural loans rose sharply from NT$4.6 billion to NT$38.4 billion during the year. The Agricultural Finance Bureau's website (https://en.afna.gov.tw/) provides information on agricultural finance and other channels where farmers and fishermen can obtain operating funds.

(6) Promoting International Agricultural Cooperation and Interchange

The focus of the COA in the 2004 international agricultural cooperation and interchange included promotion of bilateral agricultural cooperation coordinating with industrial development, import and development of advanced key technologies and new varieties to improve technological standard of our agri-cultural.

The COA also assisted our friendly allies in their agricultural development by providing professional technological training. The following is an overview of international agricultural cooperation during the year: The COA signed an "Agricultural Cooperation Memorandum" with Israel and signed the "Extension Agreement on Agricultural Technical Cooperation" with Papua New Guinea, conducted bilateral meetings with the United States, Australia, and Japan's Ryukyu Islands, and hosted the Joint Board Meetings of Sino-German Association for Economic and Social Research. Making plans for the coming year and discussing the performance of 2004. The COA sent experts to Central America to assist in the development of aquaculture, sent delegations to Malaysia and Alaska to investigate the agricultural investment environment, and provided training to the veterinary staff of Saudi Arabia. The COA also sent researchers to the United States and Japan to study ecological monitoring, animal disease control, and rice gene engineering technology, and to Vietnam to evaluate the feasibility of maize seed exports. The COA conducted relevant projects and workshops with Vietnam, other Southeast Asian countries, and Tibet.

The COA completed 36 international projects cooperated with Australia , including a conservation technology project intended to lessen fishing bycatch, invited Canadian specialists to Taiwan to hold a building materials and construction technology workshop, held 3rd East Asian regional foot-and-mouth disease conferences, and convened the 11th International Seminar on Flower Diseases, Climate Change and Disasters Protection, and Multi-functional Paddy Field Irrigation. The COA also imported breeder chickens from France and completed egg-laying performance tests after hybridizing with native chickens.

The COA promoted mutual visits of officials in friendly allies and technical staff exchanges, including the visit of Canadian Vice Minister Andrew Marsland to discuss the handling of mad cow disease with the COA, the visit of Malaysian Agriculture Minister Hon. Muhyiddin to the agricultural development in Taiwan, the visit of former Japanese official Takagi Yuki to share views on agricultural finance, and the visit of Dr. J. B. Penn, US Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, and New Zealand's Derek Leask, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to discuss important bilateral trade issues with the COA.

(7) Cross-strait Agricultural Exchanges

Agricultural exchanges with Mainland China included agricultural trade, investment, technological exchange, and exchange visits. Based on the principles of Taiwan first, global deployment, mutual benefit, and risk management, the government has adopted a progressive and multi-stage adjustment policy on Mainland China. Short-term priorities included prudent adjustment of agricultural trade and investment items, positive exchanges of agricultural information, systems, and technique, and strength of security mechanisms, and active expansion of the Taiwanese agricultural product market in Mainland China. As for the mid-term and long-term, when the cross-strait political situation is stable, the government will strengthen its enforcement of joint control of agricultural product smuggling resolve fishing disputes and protect fishing resources through negotiation, at the same time, expanding agricultural trade and investment to promote industrial division of labor between Taiwan and Mainland China.

As for agricultural trade between Taiwan and Mainland China, the government has approved and announced the importation of 1,473 agricultural products from Taiwan, accounting for 62.5% of all the agricultural product items. Taiwan imported approximately US$501 million worth of agricultural products from Mainland China in 2004, an increase of 22.6% compared with 2003. Agricultural products exported to Mainland China was US$290 million, a growth of 66.1%. This shows that the agricultural trade of cross-strait is flourishing after accession to WTO, and the agricultural trade deficit of cross-strait is gradually decreasing. By the end of 2004, there were 4,709 agricultural investment projects in Mainland China worth around US$ 3.32 billion. The majority of these investments were food and beverage processing industries, accounting for 58.2%. Ever since Taiwan opened the visits of Chinese agricultural experts to Taiwan in 1995, by the end of 2004 there were 10,000 Chinese professionals have ever visited Taiwan.

(8) Reinforce Farmers' and Fishermen's Welfare and Relief

The COA is implementing the government's policy to improve farmers' and fisher-men's welfare, and is committed to improving the lives of elderly farmers and fishermen. The COA allocates welfare allowance to elderly farmers in accordance with the "Provisional Elderly Farmers' Welfare Allowance Regulation.

" Monthly subsidy increased from NT$3,000 to NT$4,000 starting in 2004, and a system for adjusting elderly farmers' allowance once every 5 years was established. The COA allocated over NT$32 billion allowance to elderly farmers in 2004. The cumulative allowance allocated from 1995 to 2004 was over NT$198.7 billion, benefiting more than 910,000 farmers and fishermen. In addition, to carry out the policy of the Executive Yuan of caring for underprivileged groups by making sure that the children of underprivileged farmers and fishermen will still have a chance to attend high school, college, or university in spite of economic factors, the COA had specially drawn out a scholarship application guidelines for the children of farmers and fishermen on August 29, 2003 and revised the guidelines on January 29, 2004.

The COA allocated over NT$1.38 billion scholarship grants to the children of farmers and fishermen, benefiting more than 200,000 people. To alleviate losses from natural disasters and to assist farmers and fishermen to resume production quickly, the COA provided agricultural natural disaster relief in accordance with the Agricultural Natural Disaster Relief Regulations, in the form of cash, subsidies, and low-interest loans. In accordance with Article 6 of the foregoing regulations, during the major disasters in 2004, the COA immediately announced areas eligible for relief, relevant agricultural items and the relief quota measures. The COA allocated NT$1.94 billion cash relief and subsidies to more than 80,000 farmers and fishermen.

In order to ease fishermen's operating difficulties, the COA obtained permission from the Executive Yuan to begin subsidizing the price of oil used by fishing boats since November 24, 2004. The COA provides subsidy of NT$1,662 per kiloliter of fuel oil for type A fishing boats and NT$1,468 per kiloliter for type B fishing boats to reduce the burden of fishermen in their catch costs. To prevent the misuse of subsidized fuel in fishing boats, the COA formed a "Fishing Boat Oil Misuse Prevention Supervision Committee," conducting unscheduled supervision to the related special municipality, city, and county government to investigate the illegal use of subsidized fishing boat fuels.

There were 198 cases of the illegal uses of fishing boat fuels uncovered in 2004, in which 153 fishing boats without complying regulations, 12 seized oil tanker ships, 3 illegal oil dealers, 9 oil tanker trucks, and 15 illegal facilities and pipelines in the harbor, approximately 200,000 liters of oil was found to be used illegally. The COA also subsidized the freight of chemical fertilizer and negotiated the reduction of fertilizer price. In order to ease the impact of chemical fertilizer prices hike on crop production cost, the COA began subsidizing chemical fertilizer freight for NT$250 per ton (equivalent to a subsidy of NT$10 for each 40kg package of fertilizer) on September 1, 2004, subsidizing NT$85 million for more than 300,000 tons of fertilizer. A survey of fertilizer prices conducted in September 2004 showed that this subsidy caused the market prices of fertilizer to fall from 2.27% to 14.46%. The COA also negotiated a NT$1,100 per ton reduction in the price of urea with the Taiwan Fertilizer Company and the China Petrochemical Company will supply at least 4,200 tons of this fertilizer per month to ensure that farmers' needs were met.