Xinpu, Hsinchu County Fruit Tree Production and Marketing Group Wins Top Ten Outstanding Farmers' Group

Xinpu Township in Hsinchu County, long known for its pear and persimmon production, in the 2017 national Top Ten Outstanding Agricultural Production and Marketing Group selection, after evaluation and recommendation level by level from grassroots advisory units (Xinpu Township Farmers' Association), the Hsinchu County Government, and the District Agricultural Research and Extension Station (Taoyuan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station), Xinpu Township Fruit Tree Production and Marketing Group No. 21 stood out among 6,332 production and marketing groups nationwide and was selected as one of the national Top Ten Outstanding Agricultural Production and Marketing Groups. Magistrate Chiu Ching-chun, who made refined agriculture one of the five main axes of county governance, made a special trip to the Xinpu Township Farmers' Association on the 27th to congratulate them on receiving this honor, and also expressed the hope that farmers would join agricultural production and marketing groups to enhance industrial competitiveness and increase farmers' income.

When people buy imported fruits such as pears from Japan and South Korea in fresh supermarkets every day, the prices are several times those of locally produced ones. Zeng Tingxi, director-general of the Xinpu Township Farmers' Association, said that farmers should have confidence in the fruit they produce; with good quality comes a good price. The high-graft pears produced by the Xinpu Township Fruit Tree Production and Marketing Group are marketed under the Zhaomen Mountain brand, and through mutual labor exchange for grafting, combined with mature techniques, manpower is fully utilized, making agricultural products more competitive in the market.

The Hsinchu County Agriculture Department pointed out that the agricultural production and marketing groups under county guidance include fruit trees, vegetables, special crops, beekeeping, poultry and livestock, and aquaculture, totaling 164 groups with 3,377 members. Guidance is provided to strengthen organizational operations, subsidize observation and learning, purchase agricultural machinery and tools, and subscribe to agricultural magazines, enhancing farmers' cultivation efficiency and professional cultivation technology knowledge. Magistrate Chiu emphasized that by dividing labor and cooperating, farmers can sell directly from the place of production, reducing layer upon layer of sales costs, allowing consumers to buy agricultural products of excellent quality and good flavor, with both producers and consumers benefiting, which can be called the most ideal marketing method, implementing the policy of promoting refined agriculture.