Can glufosinate be used for red bean harvest? The Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine has not given the go-ahead, and the Meinong Farmers' Association urges against its use

The controversy over whether to allow the herbicide "glufosinate" for red bean harvest has remained unresolved since early June. The Council of Agriculture began holding a series of forums in the Kaohsiung-Pingtung area starting October 16, with the first session held in the second-largest red bean production area: Meinong, Kaohsiung. The Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine stressed that the Council of Agriculture has not announced the method of use or scope for "glufosinate," and that the purpose of going into the countryside was to gather more farmers' opinions.

Some farmers said that since the government has increased subsidies for not using defoliants, yet also promotes glufosinate as effective and safe, it leaves people confused. Meinong District Farmers' Association Director-General Zhong Qinghui further urged farmers to prioritize spraying sodium chlorate or allowing natural defoliation, and to consider glufosinate only as a last resort. He said in Hakka: "I beg everyone, please try not to use it!"

Questioned over whether allowing glufosinate would deal a blow to the red bean industry, the Council of Agriculture holds forums and distributes questionnaires

To standardize drying times and facilitate mechanical harvesting, farmers in the past mostly used the herbicide "paraquat" as a defoliant for red beans. However, after the Council of Agriculture fully banned "paraquat" starting February 1, 2020, bean farmers now mainly rely on three methods: spraying sodium chlorate, nonanoic acid, or natural defoliation.

To provide farmers with more options, the Council of Agriculture asked the Ministry of Health and Welfare to newly designate the herbicide "glufosinate" for drying red bean plants, with a tolerance of 2 ppm. This move drew questions from some farming quarters, who worry that although paraquat has been phased out, once glufosinate is allowed, herbicides will once again enter the red bean industry and deal a blow to domestically grown red beans.

To gather farmers' opinions on whether to use glufosinate and to promote the four major subsidy programs for red bean harvest, four units under the Council of Agriculture, including the Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, the Taiwan Agricultural Chemicals and Toxic Substances Research Institute, and the Agriculture and Food Agency, held two forums in a single day on October 16 at the Meinong District Farmers' Association and the district office in Kaohsiung City, communicating face-to-face with farmers. The two meetings drew a combined total of more than 160 farmers.

At the forum, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine widely distributed questionnaires to comprehensively collect farmers' opinions on topics such as "plant drying methods used in the past," "whether you agree to allow glufosinate," "priority order of defoliation methods," "whether you know about the government's pesticide residue testing," and "whether you are willing to cooperate with safe pesticide use."

The bureau stressed that it has not yet announced the method of use or scope for "glufosinate" as a red bean plant drying agent, and that before deciding whether to allow "glufosinate," it will hold a series of forums in major red bean production areas including Meinong and Daliao in Kaohsiung and Wandan in Pingtung.

The Agriculture and Food Agency puts up big money: those who do not use defoliants get subsidies raised to 10,000 yuan per hectare

To encourage bean farmers to farm in a friendly way, the Council of Agriculture is promoting four major subsidy programs. First, those who pass traceability certification can receive a reward of 15,000 yuan per hectare per year, with amounts prorated for less than 1 hectare; second, those who apply to use sodium chlorate receive a government subsidy of 6,500 yuan per hectare; third, if farmers apply to the Taiwan Agricultural Chemicals and Toxic Substances Research Institute