Chiou Jing-yao and Huang Sheng-yu of Chiayi County Selected as 2018 Outstanding Traceable Agricultural Products Award Winners

The Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, held the 2018 Outstanding Traceable Agricultural Products Award selection event, choosing 15 outstanding producers from across Taiwan, covering agricultural, fishery and livestock products. Two of them are from Chiayi County: Chiou Jing-yao of Budai Township and Huang Sheng-yu of Lucao Township. With outstanding quality and a solid record of traceable agricultural products, the two stood out among many agricultural, fishery and livestock operators nationwide and fully deserved the award.

Chiou Jing-yao of Budai Township has been engaged in eco-grade aquaculture for nearly ten years. His main farming items include milkfish and white shrimp, with polyculture of grass carp, silver carp, longfin red snapper and fourfinger threadfin. His farm adopts medium-to-low-density symbiotic polyculture and has maintained, for nearly 20 consecutive production seasons, a whole farming process free of chemical drugs, antibiotics and growth hormones. Even the grass growing around the fish ponds is removed by manual weeding to ensure 100% zero pollution. Through eco-friendly aquaculture that is kind to the soil and water environment, Chiou Jing-yao provides consumers with safe, reassuring and affordable ingredients. His farm has obtained both Good Aquaculture Practice and traceable agricultural product certification, and his processing plant has also passed HACCP and traceable agricultural product verification, setting a model for a new era of fishermen.

"The pursuit of an extreme feed conversion ratio is only a fine line away from food safety." Huang Sheng-yu of Lucao Township insists on producing "healthy, hygienic and safe" livestock and poultry products and implements sound feeding management, building a supply chain for white broiler chickens, founding "Yu Zheng Food Co., Ltd." and establishing the "Yu Zheng Chick Chicken" brand. This removes the public's doubt that "broiler chickens raised in 35 to 38 days must have been given growth hormones," making it the first white broiler farm nationwide to pass three certifications: traceable agricultural products, humane rearing and friendly livestock production.

The Chiayi County Agriculture Department pointed out that a traceable agricultural product is like an ID card for agricultural products. Through public disclosure and traceability of information, and with strict third-party certification and verification systems serving as gatekeepers, it ensures consistent safety and quality from the production site to the consumer's dining table, allowing consumers to buy and enjoy food with peace of mind. "Traceable agricultural products can be traced through the entire process, including the source of seedlings, feed, environment, disease prevention and treatment drugs, and production and marketing channel management; all have traceability records to follow." The Agriculture Department stressed that Chiayi County is an important domestic production base for aquaculture and livestock and poultry farming, and the county government will continue to build a safe production system and continue to promote and provide guidance on the traceable agricultural product system, so that everyone can witness Chiayi County's agricultural and fishery brands.