Taiwan, China's agricultural development has many highlights and is worthy of praise.
The story begins with a request that was hard to refuse. And so a group of naive, enthusiastic young people started by trying to help sell vegetables, and step by step they walked into the lives of organic smallholder farmers, gradually discovering the imbalance between business and agriculture. Only then did the thought arise: "What can we do?" That single thought not only brought a major turning point to some people's lives, but was also the starting point of the organic dream called "Taiwan Agriculture Like."
The most important soul behind the "Taiwan Agriculture Like" project is Chang Yu-fu in Chinese, whose English name is Baggio, though everyone habitually calls him 89. In the past, in a suit, he was a super salesman working at IBM; now, with a hoe over his shoulder, deep down he is even more of a super dreamer. He strives to use "citizenship, fairness, and public good as the foundation for action, trying to sketch out an ideal blueprint that allows Taiwan's organic smallholder farmers to become self-sufficient and further market Taiwan's agriculture internationally. The original intention he holds fast to is "sharing" - sharing good things with more people, sharing positive energy, and bringing about more change. Because he believes the best way to fulfill a dream is to help others.
The birth of "Taiwan Agriculture Like" came from the complementarity of several aspects. First, when Baggio was working for a foreign company, he and several friends co-founded a community called "Yang Bang Ban" (YBP Community), which is still an active organization encouraging young people to dare to dream and pursue their dreams. These young people, who are generous with their passion and willing to devote themselves to public welfare activities to change the world, are the main source of volunteers for all activities and the most important force of "citizens" in the blueprint for realizing dreams.
Second, there is the social enterprise that implements the concept of fair trade - "iLoveLife," which uses this conceptual platform to help smallholder farmers set up websites and build their own brands using free online resources. This allows smallholder farmers to obtain the greatest economic benefit with the smallest marketing budget. On one hand, interested consumers can buy products directly from smallholder farmers, avoiding the profit gap caused by middlemen; on the other hand, it can also reduce their inventory pressure between production and sales and improve operating efficiency.
Third, through a cooperation model with non-profit organizations (NPOs), it builds a mutually beneficial bridge between enterprises and smallholder farmers, allowing social resources to circulate. The "Taiwan Agriculture Like" team plays the role of project manager within this, integrating the three-party resources of manpower, industry, and funding to create a win-win situation in which participating volunteers gain experience in return, sales of organic smallholder products increase, and corporate social responsibility is fulfilled. Only then can this public welfare influence continue to ferment and circulate, forming a positive trend capable of changing society.
In 2012, "Taiwan Agriculture Like" cooperated with the Taiwan Yuan-Liou Public Welfare Association and successfully obtained a 300,000 IBM Corporate Public Welfare Grant, planning to give back (replicate) the experience of successfully helping Piyaway Tribe sell organic crops to 10 organic smallholder farmers. Through personally visiting them, understanding their needs, proposing customized service plans, and then communicating with the public, the goal of coaching them toward self-reliance was gradually achieved.
One of the achievements of "Taiwan Agriculture Like" was helping one of the smallholder farmers participate in Germany's organic lifestyle exhibition in February 2012, allowing Taiwan's organic agriculture to stand proudly on the international stage. The Dan Ding Black Tea incident in May 2012 was also one of 89's failed works, while the "Citizen Action Reading Group" held in July-August designed a series of courses from the perspective of helping enterprises train volunteers, attempting to awaken the civic awareness of the younger generation and encourage reflection on social phenomena. The activity was very successful and aroused enthusiastic responses from participants.
At present, the Facebook fan page run by "Taiwan Agriculture Like" has nearly 10,000 people. We believe this wave will not just be a short-lived fashion trend admiring organic LOHAS, but a stronger hope deeply rooted in the people of this land's care for and protection of their homeland. As one advertising slogan says: "Organic, it will be better." We believe that as long as people are willing to put in a little more effort to understand the care smallholder farmers invest in the process of organic cultivation, and are willing to actually make choices that are friendlier to the environment, we can make every tomorrow "have a chance to be better."
If you are willing to join the ranks of this organic dream, please search for "Taiwan Agriculture Like" on Facebook, join the fan page, and give Taiwan agriculture a like with us!
Jean Yang
Member of Yang Bang Ban, Dream Elementary School Class Two
Currently a copywriter at an advertising company
Believes in the power of words and hopes to write warmth with the tip of a pen
Conveying the energy generated by friction between people, between dreams, and between paper and pen