(1) Rural revitalization

Although 2009’s Rural Revitalization Act did not become law, the COA will still use a comprehensive strategy to strengthen the industry, ecology and quality of life in rural areas. Our key goals are to preserve and protect the culture of rural villages, which can only be achieved by strengthening grassroots participation and mechanisms to give local residents ownership of this policy. In addition, the COA will promote comprehensive revitalization measures and sustainable development. We completed comprehensive planning for rural village revitalization in 83 communities and construction and development planning in 90 communities, performed 616 instances of rural village improvements and disaster reconstruction, and local communities participated in environment greening and beautification in 251 areas. At the same time, the COA continued to develop rural human resources, holding training for a total of 35,507 people from 860 communities through the end of 2009. The COA also assisted fishing village community organizations to renovate nine model communities, plan 32 infrastructure projects, and hold 20 revitalization human resources training sessions to order to create a flourishing economy and high-quality of life in fishing villages.

(2) Development of recreational farming and fishery

1. The COA provided guidance to 454 applicants wishing to manage leisure farms, 218 of which were issued permits. After thorough evaluation, the COA designated 67 areas as recreational agricultural zones and proper assistance will be provided to meet the unique needs of each individual zone. In addition, the COA held two marketing programs to promote the theme itineraries of “Tour No. 9 in Huailien and Taitung” and “Sea of Flowers in Shinshou”, packaged trips integrating recreational agriculture and community resources that attracted 2.52 million visitors, giving a boost to the tourism industries in Hualien, Taitung, and Taichung County’s Dashancheng area and creating NT$1.7 billion in business opportunities. Overall efforts to increase agro-tourism, which included attending domestic and international tourism exhibitions and holding promotional activities, have attracted 10 million tourists from Taiwan and abroad, added 1,379 jobs, and created NT$5.5 billion in additional tourism revenue.

2. The COA held 51 local agricultural activities, including the Nantou Flower Festival, to encourage the development of marketable products that reflect each individual community’s agricultural characteristics. These included 38 individual souvenirs along with 19 gift sets and wedding favors, creating nearly NT$142 million dollars in revenue. To further develop the skills and earning capacity of women in rural areas, the COA organized 150 “Tian Ma Ma” gourmet units that led to the creation of 1,472 local jobs for rural women earning a total of NT$330 million in revenue over the past year.

3. In order to encourage the development of a model fishing industry, the COA drew up 20 themed tourism itineraries that revolve around fishery, fishing ports, and fishing villages. These itineraries will attract tourists and greatly improve the local economy. In 2009, 950,000 tourists enjoyed sea voyages, of which 190,000 were whale watching excursions.

(3) Strengthening irrigation and drainage

1. The COA continued to perform upgrades on irrigation facilities and to improve basic agricultural production infrastructure. In 2009, 320 kilometers of irrigation canals were improved, 1,100 irrigation structures were upgraded, 204 hectares of farmland were rezoned, and 2,152 hectares of agricultural waterways were constructed on earlier planned farmland consolidation areas.  In accordance with the revitalization policy for expanding infrastructure investment, accelerating plans to improve farm roads and waterways in farmland consolidation area, the COA improved 400 kilometers of irrigation channels, 635 hydraulic structures, while improving 720 kilometers of critical waterways and maintaining 4,000 kilometers of irrigation-drainage canals in consolidation area.

2. The promotion of water saving irrigation facilities for upland crops has expanded, with 1,640 additional hectares brought under control. The COA established a hydrological data observation-communication system and upgraded 80 job-site stations. In addition, we gathered basic geographical information on over 200,000 hectares of land. An area of 181 hectares of fallow paddy fields was used for water storage. The COA assisted irrigation Associations in enhancing irrigation water quality management and maintenance to ensure safe crop production. In 2009, around 2570 sampled sites were monitored and the qualification rate was 92%.

(4) Renewing rural communities

1. Renewing the cultural development of rural communities begins with developing rural human resources and the intrinsic beauty of agriculture itself. The COA aims to unite rural community resources and promote cultural innovation and development. To further these goals, we held 10 community revitalization leadership training courses, training a total of 459 community leaders establishing 15 local guidance teams who helped 118 instances of rural community cultural development and held 395 training sessions and 3,459 community activities, including a performance and artwork competition about cow culture. These programs will develop and harness the unlimited power of collective creativity.

2. The COA assisted 16 county-level and 169 township-level agricultural associations in how to use green industrial resources and we organized 565 youth agricultural associations and local cultural education groups. In addition, 104,361 people took part in 52 COA public service and rural village summer camps, in which teach young people about agriculture through hands-on experience.