2016 National Famous Rice Finalists Announced: Seven Farmers' Associations Including Guanyin, Xiluo and Daliao Make the Double List

The Agriculture and Food Agency of the Council of Agriculture has announced the finalists for the 2016 "National Famous Rice Production Area Championship," and several farmers' associations, including Taoyuan District and Guanyin District in Taoyuan City, Erlun Township and Xiluo Township in Yunlin County, Daliao District in Kaohsiung City, Guanshan in Taitung, and Donggang in Pingtung, have made the finalist list in both the aromatic rice group and the non-aromatic rice group.

"Taiwan's japonica rice culture is very special!" said Chen Chien-pin, Director-General of the Agriculture and Food Agency. He noted that around the world, probably only Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea take japonica rice as a staple food, and "Japanese people do not even eat much aromatic rice with a special flavor." He hopes that by judging production-area champion rice, farmers in production areas will compete to grow higher-quality japonica rice, and consumers will come to know what variety of japonica rice they are eating, thereby further promoting Taiwan's japonica rice culture.

List of Finalists in Eight Categories

This year, a total of 56 townships and 62 teams competed for finalist eligibility, and 8 varieties and 38 teams were selected for the finalist list. Some other varieties did not make the finalist list because fewer than five groups entered the competition, so the number of competing groups was insufficient.

(1) Aromatic rice group, Tainung 71 finalists:

Waipu District Farmers' Association, Taichung City; Wufeng District Farmers' Association, Taichung City; Erlun Township Farmers' Association, Yunlin County; Xiluo Township Farmers' Association, Yunlin County; Houbi District Farmers' Association, Tainan City.

(2) Aromatic rice group, Taoyuan 3 finalists:

Taoyuan District Farmers' Association, Taoyuan City; Bade District Farmers' Association, Taoyuan City; Xinwu District Farmers' Association, Taoyuan City; Guanyin District Farmers' Association, Taoyuan City; Dayuan District Farmers' Association, Taoyuan City.

(3) Aromatic rice group, Kaohsiung 147 finalists:

Daliao District Farmers' Association, Kaohsiung City; Meinong District Farmers' Association, Kaohsiung City; Donggang Township Farmers' Association, Pingtung County; Guanshan Township Farmers' Association, Taitung County.

(4) Non-aromatic rice group, Taikeng 2 finalists:

Taibao City Farmers' Association, Chiayi County; Guangfeng Area Farmers' Association, Hualien County; Fuli Township Farmers' Association, Hualien County; Taitung Area Farmers' Association, Taitung County; Guanshan Farmers' Association, Taitung County.

(5) Non-aromatic rice group, Taikeng 9 finalists:

Longtan District Farmers' Association, Taoyuan City; Taichung Area Farmers' Association, Taichung City; Dajia District Farmers' Association, Taichung City; Pitou Township Farmers' Association, Changhua County; Caotun Township Farmers' Association, Nantou County.

(6) Non-aromatic rice group, Kaohsiung 145 finalists:

Daliao District Farmers' Association, Kaohsiung City; Hengchun Township Farmers' Association, Pingtung County; Donggang Township Farmers' Association, Pingtung County.

(7) Non-aromatic rice group, Tainan 16 finalists:

Erlin Township Farmers' Association, Changhua County; Erlun Township Farmers' Association, Yunlin County; Dapi Township Farmers' Association, Yunlin County; Xiluo Township Farmers' Association, Yunlin County; Citong Township Farmers' Association, Yunlin County.

(8) Non-aromatic rice group, Tainan 11 finalists:

Taoyuan District Farmers' Association, Taoyuan City; Daxi District Farmers' Association, Taoyuan City; Guanyin District Farmers' Association, Taoyuan City; Zhubei City Farmers' Association, Hsinchu County; Zhushan Township Farmers' Association, Nantou County.

Champion Rice Winner to Be Announced at the End of October

Hong Mei-zhu, a researcher at the Taichung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, is a member of the judging delegation for this year's production-area champion rice competition. Hong said that during the first stage of evaluation, the judges not only went into the fields in person, "we would go see how the rice in the fields was growing, whether there was any mixing in of other varieties, and so on." They also used crude protein analysis to further test rice quality and specifications. "If the crude protein ratio is high, the rice will taste harder and the color will also tend to be yellow."

When asked how champion rice selected as superior would be promoted, Chen Chien-pin said, "Everyone will want to fight for the name 'champion rice'!" He had even heard that local governments were adding bonus prizes; if judged as champion rice, the winning farmers could not only earn prize money but also build their reputation. "The main point is that through competition among production areas, farmers are willing to plant more and plant well!"

The second stage of evaluation will be held on October 28, with a judging panel composed of experts, scholars, and food and beverage industry representatives, evaluating entries based on rice grain plumpness, gloss, uniformity, eating quality, and other items. The winning champion rice will also be sold publicly from December 2 to 4 at Exhibition Hall 3 of the Taipei World Trade Center.