Organic agriculture contributes to food safety and environmental protection. As part of the New Agriculture Movement, the COA has set up related regulations and standards, provided training in organic production, created market outlets for organic agri-products, and strengthened quality inspection measures.

In line with the Agricultural Production and Certification Act, the COA promulgated certification regulations for both domestic and imported primary and secondary organic agri-products to ensure that Taiwan’s organic agriculture certification will be on a par with the international standards.

To promote organic agriculture, the COA’s efforts were mainly placed on technology development and adoption, group production, special production zones, and assistance to the producers in certification applications. Moreover, the COA has accredited the MOA International (a.k.a. Mokichi Okada International Association), the Taiwan Organic Production Association (TOPA), the Tse-Xin Organic Agriculture Foundation (TOAF) and the Taiwan Formosa Organic Association (TFOA) as certifying institutes. By the end of 2007, 936 farms with a total of 2,013 hectares were certified as organic farms for rice, vegetables, fruit trees, tea plants, and other crops.

To secure and expand market outlets for organic agri-products, several exhibitions and sales promotions were conducted. Exchange programs were also created to encourage interactions among producers, distributors and consumers.

In 2007, 650 cases of random checks were conducted on organic fruits and vegetables in the production sites and markets. Among them, 643 cases passed the inspections. Seven cases were disqualified as organic agri-products for marketing, hence their certificates revoked and continuing education imposed. Consumers stand to benefit from the inspection mechanism for organic agri-products.