Council of Agriculture launches farmland leasing platform to help farmers find land; landlords earn rent and enjoy government subsidies
To solve the problem of farmers having no arable land to use, Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung yesterday (the 3rd) announced a major policy boon: besides signing a memorandum of cooperation with Taiwan Sugar Corporation to gradually release nearly 400 hectares and 16 greenhouses and screen houses for young farmers to rent, a farmland leasing platform will also be established, offering incentive payments to encourage landowners to release idle arable land, with the government playing the role of a fair third party to match it to farmers in need. "Upstream and Downstream" conducted an exclusive interview with Tsai Sheng-fu, Director-General of the Council of Agriculture's Planning Department, who provided a detailed explanation of the policy's progress and implementation direction.
About 5,000 hectares of idle arable land identified; elderly farmers encouraged to rent out land with peace of mind
Tsai Sheng-fu said that in ROC year 106 the Council of Agriculture conducted a nationwide farmland inventory to grasp the current state of farmland use and the area occupied, and at the same time found that much excellent arable land was completely idle, neither cultivated (with no fallow subsidy applied for) nor rented out, covering an area of about 5,000-plus hectares; many of these farmland parcels are even located in excellent agricultural zones yet are not used for agriculture.
The main reasons for idleness are that senior farmers are unable to cultivate and have no successors to take over; they also worry that if rented to others the land may be improperly used (such as having the topsoil excavated or waste maliciously dumped on it); and, added to the shadow of the early "375 Rent Reduction," they fear that if rented out long-term they might lose ownership of the land, among other concerns, causing excellent farmland to be insufficiently utilized, which is a great pity.
Based on these 5,000-plus hectares, the Council of Agriculture then screened for conditions such as irrigation water sources and identified nearly 5,000 hectares suitable for cultivation, providing more incentives and safeguards to encourage elderly farmers to release land resources.
Incentive payments offered to encourage elderly farmers to rent out land, with the government as notary
Tsai Sheng-fu explained that most elderly farmers are unwilling to hand their land over to a stranger as tenant, but if the government, or a farmers' organization commissioned by the government, plays the role of a fair third party and then matches them with farmers willing to rent land, then besides ensuring the land will not be maliciously used, the government will also provide incentive payments as an inducement.
The scale of the incentive payments is still under discussion, but Tsai Sheng-fu gave an example: an amount such as 5,000 yuan per month to reward elderly farmers for renting out land; if they are willing to sign a long-term contract, the incentive payment can be increased, and the tenant farmer can also have more stable protection.
Tsai said that although the government currently provides a "Farmland Bank" service, it does not offer measures such as incentive payments, and merely posts information online, so its effect is limited. In the future, with government incentive payments plus rental income, elderly farmers will receive a certain level of income, which can also raise the incentive to rent out land.
Do landowners sign contracts with farmers, or with the government?
Tsai explained that under the current Article 108 of the Land Act, cultivated land may not be sublet; this is to protect farmland from being monopolized by specific individuals. However, as times change and farmland fragmentation has become more severe, this provision has created restrictions on land circulation. Therefore, the Council of Agriculture has drafted an amendment to the Agricultural Development Ordinance and is seeking the concurrence of the Ministry of Finance. If it passes smoothly in the next legislative session, the government will be able to act directly as the lessee, lease farmers' idle land, and then sublet it to farmers in need.
Before the amendment passes, the Council of Agriculture plans to adopt a "registration system" and establish a farmland leasing platform, asking farmers willing to rent out land to register, and farmers willing to lease land to also register through the platform. The government, or a farmers' organization or government agency commissioned by the government, plays the role of a "fair third party," so that besides matching rentals it also ensures the farmland will be properly used, giving elderly farmers peace of mind and preventing problems like "if it's rented long enough, it becomes someone else's."
No restriction on crops, but a "group production zone" model will be guided
Tsai Sheng-fu explained that the 294 hectares of land Taiwan Sugar Corporation is about to release, because it is subject to regulations on state-run enterprise farmland, may not grow crops "with the potential for production-marketing imbalance" (reviewed on a rolling basis at any time). However, farmland rented out through the farmland leasing platform in the future will have no crop restrictions, but the Council of Agriculture will offer guidance recommendations, encouraging integration with existing group production zones in the surrounding area.
Tsai gave an example: if the nearby area of a given farmland parcel is an adzuki bean group production zone, or a fruit supply orchard, tenant farmers will be encouraged to grow the same crops and can also join the group production zone, gaining more contract-farming opportunities. Besides giving farmers more protection, the government can also effectively grasp overall production information, or develop regional group cultivation.
Both landowners and actual cultivators are registered, allowing different types of subsidies to be accurately channelled
Tsai Sheng-fu explained that at present, when many landowners rent out farmland, they are unwilling to sign a paper contract, so when the government provides production subsidies or marketing resources to actual cultivators, disputes over claiming them often arise because the actual cultivators have no contract to prove the fact of cultivation. In the future, through the farmland leasing platform's clear registration information, landowners will receive the incentive payment for renting out land, while actual cultivators will obtain the relevant subsidies encouraging production, so subsidies can be delivered more accurately.
Policy draft to be proposed in June; inventoried land to be rolled out gradually
Tsai Sheng-fu said the draft for the farmland leasing platform is expected to be proposed in one month. As for the 5,000 hectares already inventoried, exactly how much can be provided? And where exactly is it located? Tsai explained that intensive contact with landowners has already begun, hoping to release it step by step; the more people respond, the more of a rolling effect it will create.
The farmland inventoried so far is spread across the whole of Taiwan, but Taipei City, Keelung City, Chiayi City and the offshore islands currently have no farmland available for release; potential usable farmland has been inventoried in all other areas.