How do you apply for a smallholder processing facility? The operating area is capped at 60 ping, and only farmers and farmer groups may apply; crops, fishery products, and forestry products are all eligible.
On December 3, the Legislative Yuan passed the draft amendment to the Agricultural Production and Certification Management Act on third reading, giving smallholder processing a formal legal basis. The Council of Agriculture explained the contents of the draft yesterday (the 10th), saying that the indoor processing area for agriculture, forestry, and fishery products is limited to 200 square meters (about 60 ping) (cold chain and storage areas are not included in this limit). Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung said that limiting the indoor operating area is equivalent to limiting scale, and since applicants must be farmers or farmer groups and raw materials must be 100% domestically produced, this eliminates the possibility of factories appearing on farmland.
Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung said that 30% to 40% of domestic agricultural products are used for processing, and many farmers already have processing equipment that meets the standards for primary processing. Obtaining a certificate allows farmers to increase the value of agricultural products and raise their income, and the certificate also makes production traceable, thereby improving protection for consumers.
Farmers or farmer groups may apply only after passing the examination and meeting the requirements for equipment and raw materials.
In the past, processing facility registration fell under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, while food safety management fell under the Food and Drug Administration. This time, Article 18 was added to the Agricultural Production and Certification Management Act as the higher-level legal basis for regulating primary processing facilities for agricultural products. In the future, the competent authority for primary processing facilities for agricultural products will be the Council of Agriculture, and after the act takes effect, local governments will accept applications and issue certificates.
In the future, farmers or farmer groups must first complete more than 40 hours of education and training in processing technology and food safety and hygiene and pass an examination, have processing facilities that comply with Chapters 1 and 2 of GHP, and use raw materials that are domestically produced and traceable, such as agricultural products with production and sales records, organic certification, or organic transition period status, before they may apply to register as a primary processing facility for agricultural products.
Farmers must first obtain permitted use of farmland from the local township or district office, then build a legal processing room in accordance with Ministry of Health and Welfare hygiene standards, and finally register with the local government to obtain a certificate. After the primary processing facility registration certificate is issued, production information can be traced online.
