Suspending irrigation is a man-made disaster, not a natural one: farmers from Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli head north to petition, urging that agriculture no longer be sacrificed

In response to the recent suspension of irrigation without warning, farmer representatives and supporting groups from the Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli area protested in front of the Executive Yuan today against the hasty and unreasonable nature of this irrigation suspension policy. The farmers put forward five major demands, calling on the government to stop sacrificing agriculture and to raise the governance level for climate change so that everyone can jointly face the test of future extreme weather. Farmer representatives bitterly denounced the Council of Agriculture's reckless actions and demanded that Chen Chi-chung step down.

Industrial water cuts are what truly means weathering the hard times together. "Don't think farmers are easy to push around."

Before the press conference began, farmers Hong Xiang and Tian Shou-hsi, along with Chengchi University land economics professor Hsu Shih-jung and others, held incense and prayed, hoping that Taiwan, China would enjoy favorable weather and be free from man-made disasters.

"Man-made disaster" refers to a bad government. Hong Xiang pointed at the sky and said, "Today we are pleading for the five grains." Clearly, water shortage is a shared problem for everyone, yet the government only asks farmers to make sacrifices. "I don't know what everyone will eat in the future?"