Yiquan Fragrant Rice Brews Taiwan Sake to Global Fame; Huang Jingjian Wants to Sell Agricultural Products to the World

General News Jan 1, 1970 0 views

Making Taiwan sake famous worldwide, Yiquan Fragrant Rice selling hot across Taiwan, Huang Jingjian wants to sell Taiwan's agricultural products to the whole world

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"I do all these things because I love Wufeng, and I love Taiwan even more." Huang Jingjian, Director-General of the Wufeng Farmers' Association, said with a warm smile and great firmness. This is his 25th year working at the Wufeng Farmers' Association, and his 19th year as Director-General. In his hands, not only has Wufeng Fragrant Rice become famous nationwide and has the brewed Chuwu sake won global awards, but in recent years he has even extended his scope across all of Taiwan.

"Besides Wufeng's agricultural products, I want to sell Taiwan's agricultural products too." Huang Jingjian said that since overseas clients have gift-giving needs, he simply gathered the specialty products of farmers' and fishermen's associations from all over Taiwan for overseas clients to select from. "Taiwan isn't big; all of it can count as local agricultural products. Selling one more item means helping one more farmer."

Huang Jingjian, Director-General of the Wufeng Farmers' Association (photo by Lin Yijun)

Third-Generation Politician with a Master's Degree from the US Returns Home to Work at the Farmers' Association from the Ground Up

"When you hear 'farmers' association,' do you think I'm a gangster?" Huang Jingjian said, referring to the stereotypical impression people have of farmers' associations. He describes himself as a third-generation politician: his grandfather served as chairman of the township representative council, his father Huang Zhengyi served as a Taichung County councilor and speaker, and was also elected to the Taiwan Provincial Assembly.

Though a third-generation politician, the Huang family has been involved in agriculture since his great-grandfather's time. His great-grandfather exported bananas, his grandfather grew bananas and pineapples and also opened a rice shop in the vegetable market, and his father grew mushrooms. This family background meant Huang Jingjian was exposed to farming from childhood. After earning a master's degree in business administration from Seattle University in the United States, he returned to Taiwan and started as the most junior cashier at the Wufeng Farmers' Association. That was 1995, and he was 28 years old.

"At first I didn't think too much about it; I just knew I couldn't bring shame to my father and grandfather." Huang Jingjian admitted frankly that he didn't understand farmers' associations at the start. To familiarize himself with grassroots work, he often went to the countryside to chat and bond with farmers, attending all kinds of temple events, weddings, funerals and celebratory occasions, gradually becoming one with the people around him. He went on to serve as head of the credit department and the extension division, and then took over as Director-General in 2001. His entire career "debut" and training has been at the Wufeng Farmers' Association.

Huang Jingjian goes to the countryside to talk with farmers and understand frontline problems and farmers' needs (photo source: Ke Yixiong)

"No amount of subsidies will increase farmers' income." Guaranteed-price purchasing, vigorously promoting Yiquan Fragrant Rice

The year before Huang took office as Director-General, the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute in Wufeng, under the guidance of Professor Guo Yiquan, bred Tainung 71, also known as the famous "Yiquan Fragrant Rice." Less than a year after Huang took office, Taiwan joined the WTO. "At the time everyone was worried about not being able to compete with imported rice on price. I thought that if we had a good variety and a good price, we could protect farmers."

"No amount of subsidies will increase farmers' income." Huang Jingjian decided to vigorously promote the Yiquan Fragrant Rice bred locally, and to use contract farming to guarantee farmers' income. "In return, the farmers' association can also demand quality." So the Wufeng Farmers' Association raised its purchase price for dry grain, adjusting it upward year by year from 20 yuan per kilogram to 28.5 yuan per kilogram, and the contracted farming area grew from 5 hectares at the start to 383 hectares now.

Contract farming also gradually changed local farmers' cultivation habits. Huang said: "Once the price is fixed, farmers feel that the more they deliver, the more they earn, but for fragrant rice to taste good, the yield can't be too high." Through holding competitions and farmer exchanges, contracted households were shifted from a yield orientation to a quality orientation. For example, dry grain samples are tested for "eating quality," and if the score exceeds the standard, farmers are encouraged with a contract price increase.

Yiquan Fragrant Rice, highly praised for its quality (photo source: Ke Yixiong)

"Chishang in the east, Wufeng in the west" - thinking about transformation after winning awards

Starting in 2004, the Agriculture and Food Agency began holding a national rice quality competition. Yiquan Fragrant Rice won awards for four consecutive years, and later won the National Top Ten Classic Good Rice award four more times. "Chishang is first, and right after that is us. Back then, the rice world had a saying: 'Chishang in the east, Wufeng in the west.' The best-tasting rice in western Taiwan was the Yiquan Fragrant Rice produced in Wufeng." The name Wufeng Fragrant Rice spread from there, and the rice's sales channels stabilized.

Besides stabilizing contract farming, Huang Jingjian and his colleagues in recent years came into contact with the concepts of organic and eco-friendly farming, believing that for long-term operation, healthy land must be left for future generations. They gradually coordinated with farmers to replace pesticides, chemical fertilizers and herbicides with self-made compost from dry grass and fallen leaves. "Currently, 50 jia of the contracted area is organic and eco-friendly farming."

For the winery, employees must read manga, learn Japanese, and travel all the way to Japan to study sake brewing

Although he had opened up the market for fragrant rice, Huang Jingjian believed that fragrant rice could not always focus on fresh eating, and that rice had other processing uses. It had to enter a stage that was hard to replicate, distinctive and high in added value. He saw that Japan's major rice-producing regions, besides producing rice, also had many local sakes, and the idea of a "Wufeng Winery" began to take shape.

"Back then people teased me: 'You can even read manga at work!'" Huang Jingjian pointed to the books in the winery, one set being the famous Japanese sake manga "Natsuko no Sake." He recalled that after the winery concept emerged, it coincided with a Council of Agriculture program to guide farmers' associations in business management, and the program's funding was used for staff training.

Before the winery was officially completed in 2007, all winery staff had to first read related books, with "Natsuko no Sake" and "The Drops of God" among the textbooks. At the time, two employees were selected, learned Japanese in Taiwan, then went to a sake brewery in Niigata, Japan for three months of training. Later, other employees were also sent to Japan to study, step by step moving toward the path of sake brewing.

Wufeng Winery, where the shelves are full of manga related to alcohol (photo by Lin Yijun)

Brewer: Taiwan's breweries are more flexible and more innovative

"Before, I didn't know the reasons behind the operating steps; only after going to Japan did I understand." Li Zhengyan, who came to the brewery to work part-time during university and has now become a brewer, said that when he was working part-time, he followed the brewery staff's instructions, one command one action, but often knew the how without knowing the why. It was only after going to a Japanese brewery to study that he understood the principles and key points of making sake.

"The person in charge of steaming rice would absolutely never go do the koji-making." Li Zhengyan recalled that Japanese breweries have a rigorous structure, with everyone obeying the "toji" (the Japanese term for master brewer), starting work punctually at 8 a.m. every day. During brewing, each step was handled by a dedicated person. Because he himself had only three months of training time, he went through everything from washing barrels, washing and steaming rice, to making koji and brewing, learning one full round of it all.

"Whatever I want to do, I can try anytime." Li Zhengyan explained that in Japanese breweries everyone has their own role, but if the process needs to be adjusted, it is relatively a big project, requiring changing everyone's habits. In Taiwan, however, breweries are more flexible: everything from junmai sake to adding fruit flavors can be made. He also revealed that he has recently been learning to make beer and is studying how to bring it into the current production process.

Li Zhengyan, brewer at Wufeng Brewery (photo by Lin Yijun)

Good eating rice makes good sake; "Chuwu" is fragrant and richer, milder than Japanese sake

Wufeng's sake brand is named "Chuwu," chosen at the time through a vote. It means successfully produced in Wufeng with the best quality. Unlike Japan, which uses dedicated sake rice, the Wufeng Farmers' Association brews sake from Yiquan Fragrant Rice, which is full of taro aroma, giving the entire "Chuwu" line more fragrance, while the taste is much milder than Japanese sake.

The current winery and brewery occupy the space that was once the Wufeng Farmers' Association's Wanfeng Granary. Current brewery director Chen Yongbin is also a veteran employee of the rice mill. Asked about the secret to making good sake, Chen Yongbin believes the key lies in the rice: "We use eating rice to make sake, not leftover rice that was for sale." He explained that the condition of the raw material determines the flavor produced, and eating rice has strict quality requirements, so the sake made from it has corresponding quality.