Agricultural machinery subsidies snapped up in 10 minutes, farmers' associations urge the central government to address the needs of small farmers
The Council of Agriculture (COA), under the Executive Yuan's consumer stimulus measure plan, put in 200 million yuan to subsidize farmers buying small agricultural machinery. Applications opened Monday morning, and at one farmers' association the quota was snapped up in ten minutes. There were even reports of farmers camping out on the street with chairs in the early hours to queue. The Meinong Farmers' Association waitlist has already reached 500. Farmers' association general manager Chung Ching-hui said this shows the huge demand for small agricultural machinery in Taiwan, China, and expressed hope that the central government can adjust its past mindset of subsidizing large machinery and pay attention to the needs of small farmers.
COA allots 60 slots, 500 people show up
Meinong farmer Lin Yung-kung wanted to buy a small brush cutter, so on Monday he hurried to the farmers' association to apply for the subsidy, but could only get onto the waitlist. In recent years Meinong's Chengmi aromatic tomatoes have made a name for themselves. Lin Yung-kung said that this time 7 or 8 friends around him all wanted to buy small tomato sorting machines, and he did not know whether they would get the subsidy. "This policy is very good, but I hope there will be a bit more funding to take care of farmers."
On October 30 the COA announced the small agricultural machinery subsidy plan, covering 14 types of machinery including tillage management machines, farm transport vehicles, field transport machines and brush cutters, with subsidy amounts for each township allocated according to cultivated land area. Although the funding reaches 200 million, after actual distribution one farmers' association gets less than 1 million, far less than farmers need.
Taking Meinong as an example, the allocated amount is 800,000, enough to subsidize about 60-plus farmers, but as of Wednesday more than 500 people had come to register. Although the Agriculture and Food Agency said farmers participating in traceability systems such as organic, production and sales traceability, and GAP (Good Agricultural Practice) get priority, "even these people cannot get in," Chung Ching-hui said. Among the applicants, more than 70 take part in the traceability system, and there are also older farmers taking this chance to replace machinery, including brush cutters and sorting machines.
Farmers' associations accused of black-box dealings, unable to voice their grievances
Many farmers, upon hearing the application quota was gone, loudly accused the farmers' associations of black-box dealings and questioned whether the policy was a sham, but the farmers' associations have something to say too.
The Madou Farmers' Association received 600,000 in subsidies. General manager Li Yu-hsien said that this time, unlike in the past when the production and sales group was the unit, anyone engaged in farming qualifies. Some farmers, afraid they would not get to apply, came to queue with chairs in the early hours of Monday. The central government's intentions are good, but funding is limited, and the farmers' associations, tasked with carrying it out, instead get accused of black-box dealings - a thankless effort. He hopes funding can be increased, or that the actual number of farmers in each township be surveyed before allocating funds.
After the COA announced the policy, the Meinong Farmers' Association called meetings of the various production and sales groups and farmers' association team leaders to give notice and produced newspaper insert advertisements. Unexpectedly, agricultural officials later "reminded" them not to speak up proactively and just wait for people to come apply. "But this kind of thing should be seen by farmers in the first place, otherwise wouldn't we become a black box?" Chung Ching-hui said.
The Miaoli Gongguan Farmers' Association also hopes the COA will add more. Currently there are nearly a hundred applicants, mostly for brush cutters, powered fertilizer spreaders and transport vehicles, but only 20 or 30 people can receive subsidies. Especially with the activation of fallow land in recent years, everyone's demand for small agricultural machinery is very high.
Farmers' associations call for attention to small farmers
In fact, after the COA announced the policy at the end of October, the weekend coincided with the annual agricultural machinery exhibition, and buying interest and inquiries rose noticeably, but Agriculture and Food Agency Director-General Li Tsang-lang, when interviewed by News&Market, said the funding should be sufficient.
There are about 120,000 units of the 14 types of small agricultural machinery nationwide, and on average replacement is calculated every 3 to 5 years, meaning at least 20,000 units must be renewed each year. But in the past the COA's annual agricultural machinery subsidy was only 50 million, and it included subsidies for large machinery such as tillers. The actual annual replacement of small agricultural machinery was less than 4,000 units.
Yesterday Li Tsang-lang said in another interview that next week the number of applicants in each township would be compiled uniformly. Some coastal farmers' associations may have fewer applicants, so quotas can be adjusted for other townships. If indeed many people want to apply, efforts will be made to secure more funding. He also admitted frankly that the current funding for small agricultural machinery subsidies is insufficient, but he is also very worried that farmers merely grab slots first and in the end do not actually buy, leaving budgeted funds that cannot be executed.
Chung Ching-hui said the COA's remarks make it evident that they are too far removed from small farmers and do not know how important small machinery is to farmers. In the past the COA always subsidized large farmers; a single tiller can cost over a million, while small machinery only needs 2,000 or 3,000 yuan in subsidy. There are still many small farmers all over Taiwan, China, and the COA should pay proper attention, set aside regular funding to encourage replacement of small machinery, "at least let small farmers feel they are valued, so there is cohesion," and could refer to models such as trading in an old phone for a new one.