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[Farmer Writer]Xiao Chenglong / Glufosinate-ammonium threatens domestic adzuki beans; don't forget the efforts made for transition, and don't let short-term convenience affect the industry's future

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[Farmer Writer]Xiao Chenglong / Glufosinate-ammonium threatens domestic adzuki beans; don't forget the efforts made for transition, and don't let short-term convenience affect the industry's future

Editor's note: This article is a farmer submission, written independently by the farmer, with subheadings added by the Upstream and Downstream editors.

By Xiao Chenglong, head of the Third Team of the Meinuo District Coarse Grains (Adzuki Bean) Production and Marketing Group, Kaohsiung City

We are farmers of the Meinuo Farmers' Association Coarse Grains (Adzuki Bean) Production and Marketing Group. Recently the government is expected to allow glufosinate-ammonium as a defoliant for adzuki beans, and we believe this is extremely unfavorable to Taiwan's adzuki bean farmers and the adzuki bean industry chain. The government keeps saying that allowing glufosinate-ammonium is what local farmers suggested, but the government has forgotten all the efforts made in recent years for transition and to turn around public trust in domestic adzuki beans, and has instead gone along with the improper habits of some farmers to take the easy way out and blind its conscience!

We call on the government and a minority of farmers not to be short-sighted and chase immediate gains, causing long-term harm. I myself am the head of the Third Team of the Meinuo Farmers' Association Coarse Grains (Adzuki Bean) Production and Marketing Group, and below are my views for everyone's reference.

Having taken over from his father, Xiao Chenglong has already grown adzuki beans for six years, always harvesting without herbicides, and always drying the adzuki beans by natural sun-drying (photo provided by Xiao Chenglong)

Forced to ban paraquat, farmers worked hard to transition; domestic adzuki beans saw hope; some farmers privately used glufosinate-ammonium

Adzuki beans are one of the agricultural products that people love to eat, and the Kaohsiung-Pingtung area is the largest production area in Taiwan. Before paraquat was banned, adzuki bean farmers generally used paraquat as a defoliant, because spraying paraquat could quickly dry out the adzuki bean leaves and plants in a short time, making it easier for the combine harvester to harvest the beans, and it also removed field weeds, which helped the next season's cultivation and reduced field weeds, saving time and cost.

Among the many herbicides, paraquat is cheap, highly effective, and has the least impact on the environment. Such a useful defoliant was loved by a broad group of farmers, so why did the government abruptly announce a ban? The main reason is that if it is mistakenly drunk or taken by someone attempting suicide, the process is painful and it is very hard to save their life. Therefore, under the strong wave of calls for a ban led by the medical field, the government ignored the strong opposition of adzuki bean farmers and other farmers and banned it just like that.

To comply with government regulations, farmers could only swallow their bitterness and use other safe alternative materials or defoliants, such as sodium chlorate, nonanoic acid, urea (potassium chloride, ammonium sulfate) plus salt, and other methods to harvest adzuki beans. However, some farmers could not adapt in time or were not suited to the new practices, and since they could not use paraquat, they turned their minds to another herbicide, glufosinate-ammonium, and used it as a defoliant before adzuki bean harvest. Although this method can achieve an effect close to paraquat, it disregards consumers' food safety rights.

Xiao Chenglong calls on farmers not to be impatient, and to wait until the adzuki bean plants begin to age before using the urea (potassium chloride, ammonium sulfate) plus salt method (photo provided by Xiao Chenglong)

The Meinuo Farmers' Association and farmers worked together to gradually adapt to life without paraquat

Under the leadership of Farmers' Association Director-General Zhong Qinghui, our production and marketing group, starting from 2014/2015, vigorously cooperated with the policy to promote non-herbicide defoliation methods, including sodium chlorate, nonanoic acid, urea (potassium chloride, ammonium sulfate) plus salt, and other methods to harvest adzuki beans. To improve the brand reputation of domestic adzuki beans, we farmers even paid a 3,000 yuan pesticide inspection deposit to the farmers' association to show our stance on safe harvesting. As long as the pesticide inspection passes, the farmers' association returns the deposit; if it fails, we are willing to have it confiscated by the farmers' association.

In the first year, the contracted farming area between the farmers' association and farmers was about 55 hectares, with fewer than 40 farmers, while most other farmers still used paraquat as a defoliant. To promote the brand image of safe Meinuo adzuki beans, the farmers' association continuously carried out education and training for farmers and also raised the purchase price to encourage farmers. By the 2019/2020 season, the area had increased to 290 hectares, with more than 300 contracted farming households.

In recent years, many farmers have also wanted to join the contract farming ranks, but the renewal rate of original contracted farmers is very high, and in addition the farmers' association's purchase quantity and subsidy amount are limited, so everyone always rushes to line up early at the venue to draw a number. Even so, farmers who want to join may not necessarily get their wish.

Contract farming work is complicated; farmers do it gladly and accept it willingly; domestic adzuki beans gradually built a name

After the farmers' association signs contracts with farmers, before the farmers have even planted the adzuki beans, the Meinuo Farmers' Association regularly holds one to two training sessions to educate farmers on rational fertilization, safe pesticide use, and safe harvesting practices. Farmers must also notify the extension section before harvest to take samples in the field and check whether the farmers harvest adzuki beans according to the rules. After the adzuki beans are harvested, farmers' association staff attach the contracted farmer's name to the bulk bag to facilitate later inspection and tracking.

Given all the above educational measures and the complicated regulations during the growing period, why does it still attract farmers to cooperate and participate? First, the Meinuo Farmers' Association is willing to buy adzuki beans from contracted farmers at a price higher than middlemen's purchase price; second, the Meinuo Farmers' Association coordinates with rice seedling growers to reserve enough seedlings for adzuki bean contract farmers, ensuring the next season's rice planting; third, if the contracted farmers themselves have the ability to sell on their own (online), this cultivation method also helps strengthen customers' identification with the farmers and agricultural products.

With the assistance of the Kaohsiung Agricultural Improvement Station, the Meinuo Farmers' Association and farmers worked hard for six years, and promotion has now led more than 70 percent of farmers to switch to the urea (potassium chloride, ammonium sulfate) plus salt method to harvest adzuki beans. For adzuki bean farmers who do not comply with government regulations and farmers' association standards, the Meinuo Farmers' Association also does not purchase the adzuki beans they produce. From this it can be seen that, under the farmers' association and farmers' concept of safeguarding consumers' food safety, although the paraquat ban caused temporary inconvenience, in the long run it has indeed had significant effects in protecting the environment and ecology, safeguarding consumers' food safety, and making the domestic adzuki bean industry chain healthier.

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