Domestic wheat is fresh and delicious, favored by renowned bakers such as Wu Pao-chun, revived through grassroots self-reliance, yet lacking resources from breeding to processing

(Continued from previous) The pandemic has tightened global wheat supply, raising concerns about the self-sufficiency rate of domestic wheat. Taiwan's wheat self-sufficiency rate is less than 1%. In recent years, grassroots efforts have spontaneously revived wheat cultivation. Although agricultural authorities were not optimistic and did not actively assist, domestic wheat has carved out a path to survival through private efforts. Brands such as Happy Republic, Hongjie Foods, Eighteen Wheat, Olemai, and Under the Moonlight have flourished across the island. Renowned bakers such as Wu Pao-chun and A-Duan Bakery use domestic flour for baking, further boosting the cultivation area and production of domestic wheat year after year.

However, the long-term development of domestic wheat still faces multiple severe challenges. From breeding to downstream storage and processing promotion, the industry chain is not yet mature. The Agriculture and Food Agency, in response to the pandemic, called for a "tenfold expansion" but did not propose an overall plan. Will this help the development of domestic wheat?

Grassroots revival began in 2007, expanding from 20 hectares upward on the main island

Wheat cultivation in Taiwan was almost abandoned after the Korean War. Apart from Kinmen wheat, which has long been contract-farmed by Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor Inc. for liquor production and maintained stable cultivation, wheat on the main island had only 20 hectares of cultivation area remaining in 1997 (ROC year 86). It was not until 2007 (ROC year 96) that Shih Ming-huang, founder of Happy Republic, believing Taiwan was overly dependent on imported wheat, began a revival plan that spread outward from Daya District in Taichung City. (For domestic wheat production and distribution, please click here)

Lin Hsun-shih, a technician in the Farm Management Office of the Taichung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, the only institution in the country researching wheat breeding, stated that Taiwan wheat is harvested once a year, planted around mid-November each year and harvested in March of the following year. The main cultivated variety is "Taichung Selection No. 2," with about 12% protein. It is mainly developed into koji, or milled into medium-gluten flour products such as steamed buns, noodles, and bread.

Happy Republic: Little investment from the public sector, even research and development funding is extremely frugal

As the first person to initiate the wheat revival movement, Shih Ming-huang, "Chief and Concurrent" of Happy Republic, stated that from contract farming in 2007 to now, the annual contract farming area is approximately 420 hectares. Contract farmers adopt organic and eco-friendly cultivation, distributed from Yuanli in Miaoli southward to Xuetian in Tainan northward.

Shih Ming-huang stated that even in a bumper year, production reaches only 670 metric tons at most. For flour mills, this amount is still too small for milling. They previously cooperated with Lian Hwa Foods, and in recent years have successively built a single-channel flour mill and seed storage facility. The main channels are Leezen, Homemakers United Foundation, and their own products. Sales are currently stable.

Shih Ming-huang stated that since the revival of wheat cultivation, it has all been driven by private efforts, with minimal investment from the public sector. Only one technician at the Taichung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station does breeding work, but the wheat industry requires considerable hardware and capital. Yet the government is extremely frugal even with research and development resources. Upon hearing that the Agriculture and Food Agency wants to expand cultivation area this year in response to the pandemic, Shih Ming-huang said, "To expand tenfold, unless all domestic wheat this year is not milled at all and is entirely kept for seed."

Hongjie: Adjusting production methods, bread made with Taiwan wheat is fresher and tastier

Hongjie Foods, which has contract farming with farmers in Daya, Taichung, Dacheng, Changhua, and Dongshi, Chiayi, has been contract farming with farmers for nearly six years. The current contract farming area is 200 hectares. They mainly sell wheat raw materials, with channels including Carrefour and Wu Pao-chun Bakery.

Ku Cheng-mu, who comes from a flour milling background, stated that Taiwan wheat is priced higher compared to American wheat, but some domestic baking businesses use European and Japanese flour, which is priced similarly. The only difference is usage habits. "Most businesses are accustomed to using American flour, but actually using Japanese flour or domestic wheat flour both require different time and temperature controls to make dough."

To ensure quality, Hongjie mills wheat harvested from different regions separately and keeps detailed records of wheat production conditions and post-processing results in each area. In recent years, they have found that domestic wheat quality has been continuously improving. For example, this year's protein content can reach 13.05%. Especially after Wu Pao-chun Bakery adopted it, it has been more convincing regarding the quality and use of domestic wheat. "Bread made with Taiwan wheat tastes particularly fresh and has a wonderful aroma, but the biggest fear for sales channels is running out of stock."

A-Duan Bakery: Taiwan wheat protein is similar to European T55 flour, very suitable for making bread

A-Duan Bakery, which has been operating in Muzha for over twenty years, has attempted to use domestic wheat to make bread in recent years. During the interview, baker Huo Tou-gong was just receiving the first batch of milled wheat flour this year. "This year's protein content is about 11.5%, similar to imported flour."

"Taiwan wheat's protein content is very close to European T55 and T65, so it is very suitable for making French baguettes." Huo Tou-gong explained that the shop