Top Ten Shennong Award Winners Announced, President Personally Presents Awards, Urges Citizens to Thank Farmers, Organic and Eco-Friendly Farming Shines with Remarkable Achievements

The Council of Agriculture held the 32nd National Top Ten Shennong and Model Farmer Award Ceremony today (the 27th). President Tsai Ing-wen and Premier Su Tseng-chang specially attended to recognize all the awarded farmers for their efforts in agriculture. Among this year's Top Ten Shennong, 4 farmers all practice organic cultivation, and among the 12 Model Farmers, 2 also adopt organic and eco-friendly farming. Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung stated on site that Taiwan's current proportion of organic and eco-friendly farming area is already the highest in Asia, with the goal of reaching 21,000 hectares of organic and eco-friendly cultivation area by 2024.

President attends Shennong Award ceremony for the first time, encourages citizens to buy more agricultural products during Lunar New Year

The Shennong Award is presented every two years and is regarded as the Oscars of Taiwan's agricultural sector. Taiwan began holding the Shennong Award in 1983, selecting 10 outstanding farmers each year for recognition. Candidates must go through three levels of selection: township (town, city, district), county (city) government, and national level. A committee of judges selects the top 10 as Shennong Award winners, and those who do not receive the Top Ten Shennong Award are named model farmers.

The 22 award-winning farmers this time changed their cultivation and breeding methods, pursued sustainable management of agriculture and fisheries, obtained label certification and processed products as the foundation for industrial upgrading, and some farmers introduced corporate management models and technology to develop smart agriculture. The award-winning farmers all generously shared their knowledge, enthusiastically helping other farmers improve their techniques and solve problems.

This year's award ceremony was attended by a head of state for the first time. President Tsai Ing-wen thanked each farmer present by name and encouraged citizens to choose Taiwan's high-quality agricultural products as Lunar New Year gifts. Tsai Ing-wen said that technological research and development in Taiwan's agriculture will drive industrial upgrading, and that the Shennong Award winners and model farmers present are the best examples, as technological innovation and the passing on of experience will benefit more farmers.

Premier Su Tseng-chang also paid tribute to the award-winning farmers present and said that farmers produce daily necessities for the people, so caring for farmers is equivalent to caring for one's own life, and citizens should thank farmers.

Slash organic tea farmer: not only wants himself to do well, but also wants his hometown to do well

Among this year's Top Ten Shennong Award winners, 4 are organic farmers: vegetable grower Wu Cheng-fu, turmeric farmer Hsieh Jui-yu, rice farmer Huang Chih-hung, and second-generation tea farmer Chen Hung-ju.

Chen Hung-ju, a young farmer from Taitung, is 38 years old. This year marks his tenth year back home. He cultivates 1.5 hectares of organic tea garden and 6 hectares of pesticide-free tea garden. His interpretation and expectation for the "Tung Chieh Tea Garden" he operates is: "To become the most outstanding tea garden in eastern Taiwan."