Reduce chemical fertilizer subsidies and increase organic fertilizer subsidies; the Council of Agriculture has invested 1.2 billion this year

20170308 News Update:

After the news was published, a farmer responded: "I checked with the farmers' association, and the association replied that they had not received the official document, so they did not know the details and could not proceed, and asked farmers to wait for news. This government is simply drawing a big pie in the sky, saying one thing and doing another, deceiving those above and hiding the truth from those below. Farmers are just that easy to fool. No wonder organic agriculture is in such a sorry state."

A News&Market reporter sought confirmation from the Council of Agriculture. Wang, the section chief of the Agricultural Materials Division, said: the friendly-environment farming fertilizer subsidy measure has not yet been launched. The key points of the measure, including the definition of friendly agriculture, are still under discussion. The preliminary planning points have now been submitted to the Council of Agriculture for review and must await the approval of the minister; it is expected to take some more time. If formally approved, the Agriculture and Food Agency will immediately announce it online.

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Excessive chemical fertilizer application not only acidifies the soil and causes pests and diseases to run rampant; after rainwater washes it away, it flows into rivers and oceans and also causes pollution. To encourage farmers to move toward friendly and organic farming and reduce chemical fertilizer use, the Council of Agriculture this year plans to invest 1.2 billion, raising subsidies for organic fertilizers and the like from 20,000 per hectare to 30,000 yuan. In addition, for the first time it will encourage farmers through subsidies to use microbial fertilizers to improve soil, with up to 5,000 yuan per hectare.

The friendly-environment farming fertilizer subsidy measure takes effect from today. Farmers interested in using organic fertilizers and microbial fertilizers in cultivation can apply to local farmers' associations as soon as possible.

Chemical fertilizers account for 85% of total fertilizer use

Taiwan, China's chemical fertilizer use has long been too high, about 1.6 times the international averageand the chemical fertilizer prices farmers get are cheap, making it easy to "use without fear"

To promote farming in a friendly-environment way, the Council of Agriculture began reviewing the price-gap subsidy policy for chemical fertilizers last year. This year it decided to let chemical fertilizer prices "return to the market mechanism." Wang An-shih, section chief of the Agricultural Materials Division of the Agriculture and Food Agency, explained that in the past, when chemical fertilizer prices rose with international markets, the government always footed the bill, and farmers only had to bear the cost of fertilizer raw materials, etc., which invisibly led farmers to overuse and damage the land. Now, by reducing chemical fertilizer subsidies and increasing subsidies for organic fertilizers and the like, the aim is to promote the transformation of farming models.