Kaohsiung City's muskmelons and watermelons designated a disaster relief area

Deputy Premier Chen Chi-mai of the Executive Yuan, accompanied yesterday (the 17th) by Legislator Chiu Yi-ying and Hu Chung-yi, Director-General of the Agriculture and Food Agency of the Council of Agriculture, visited farmers in Qishan and Meinong in Kaohsiung to show concern for them.

Deputy Premier Chen Chi-mai pointed out that melons are grown in very large quantities in the Greater Qishan-Meinong area and are highly sensitive to water damage, and that heavy rains in Kaohsiung in early July caused damage to muskmelons and watermelons. After investigation and reporting by the Council of Agriculture, it was announced that muskmelons and watermelons in Kaohsiung City qualify for the cash relief and low-interest loan zone, in the hope of helping reduce farmers' losses and taking care of farmers.

Deputy Premier Chen Chi-mai also said that another fruit inspected, papaya, suffers delayed disaster damage, which gradually emerges one to two weeks after a flood; on-site observation also showed damage. He hoped that Kaohsiung City could speed up the pace of damage assessment, and that as long as the assessment meets the standards, the Council of Agriculture will certainly designate it as a cash relief and low-interest loan disaster area within the shortest possible time and provide farmers with the relevant cash relief measures.