Promoting organic can't leave out fish and meat! Tsai Pei-hui: The Council of Agriculture should propose guidance regulations for friendly livestock farming and aquaculture within six months
Organic and friendly practices can't be limited to agricultural and food crops alone; livestock farming and aquaculture must also be accelerated! The "Organic Agriculture Promotion Act" was passed last year (Republic of China year 107 / 2018), incorporating "environmentally friendly farming" into the scope of organic agriculture promotion. However, the relevant regulations and guidance policies currently focus mainly on agricultural and food crop production, while livestock farming and aquaculture lack related policy guidance and regulations.
Legislator Tsai Pei-hui, together with the Taiwan Animal Society Research Association, held a press conference yesterday (the 29th) to put forward demands regarding this bill: the "Organic Agriculture Promotion Act" should cover livestock production and aquaculture, and they also demanded that the Council of Agriculture propose relevant regulations and guidance measures within six months, so that farmers interested in investing in friendly livestock production and aquaculture can have clearer standards to follow.
Fisheries Agency: "Friendly aquaculture" currently has no definition; clear regulations need to be discussed
On the aquaculture side, Lin Tsung-shan, a researcher in the Aquaculture Fisheries Division, responded that under current fisheries-related laws, there is indeed no definition of "friendly aquaculture," and clear regulations will be worked out through discussion. Currently, the Fisheries Agency provides guidance to fishermen on friendly aquaculture and encourages fishermen to use energy-saving paddlewheel aerators and green energy equipment, covering about ten percent of the domestic aquaculture industry. He stated that he hopes to broadly gather industry opinions and will also discuss with industry operators soon to see where regulations need to be supplemented or more fully implemented.
Aquaculture Fisheries Association: Promoting friendly aquaculture requires solid market research
Chen Yu-ying, Secretary-General of the Pingtung County Aquaculture Fisheries Development Association, stated that domestic aquaculture has pursued high-economic-value farming for the past decade or so, and friendly aquaculture has been relatively neglected. If more people invest in production that is friendly to the environment and ecology, it would be very welcome. He further stated that if the government wants to provide guidance for friendly aquaculture, the "sales market" would be the key concern for fishermen. Guidance on friendly aquaculture methods and assistance from scholars are both necessary, but what truly gives fishermen confidence to invest is still whether the market will buy and who will pay.
He stated that currently, whether for domestic sales or exports, fishermen are almost entirely on their own in figuring out "what kind of fish to farm and which market prefers which taste of fish." He suggested that if friendly aquaculture is truly to be promoted, doing solid market research is the first priority.
Tsai Pei-hui: Clear regulations for friendly livestock farming and aquaculture should be established within six months
At the meeting, Tsai Pei-hui and the Taiwan Animal Society Research Association put forward two demands. First, the "Organic Agriculture Promotion Act" and related subsidiary laws should cover environmentally friendly livestock production and aquaculture. Second, they demanded that the Council of Agriculture incorporate environmentally friendly livestock and aquaculture into environmentally friendly production within six months, and establish relevant regulations and clear guidance measures, not just "guidelines." Tsai Pei-hui also stated that the Legislative Yuan will propose amendments to accelerate the completion of the "Organic Agriculture Promotion Act."