How Can Farmers' Markets Take the Next Step? A Discussion Sparked by the NTU Organic Farmers' Market Incident

Image source / NTU Organic Farmers' Market

The NTU Organic Farmers' Market, which opened in May last year, was hurriedly shut down in less than a year. This move not only sparked dissatisfaction among farmers but also left consumers shocked. Recently, there was even a confrontation between farmers and the school authorities, bringing the management problems of organic farmers' markets to the surface.

It is understood that this incident highlights the rough process of the Council of Agriculture's promotion plan, and if the organizers (such as NTU) merely go through the motions while farmers participate only as attendees, similar problems will keep emerging.

NTU Farm: Temporarily Suspended, Hoping to Restart After Review

The market, located in a corner of the NTU Farm, originally gathered about 40 farmers every Saturday, setting up 21 stalls to offer fresh, chemical-free agricultural products to people who came specifically or passed by. However, at the end of last year, it was decided to shut it down, and the school asked the farmers to withdraw.

Shen Zhicheng, head of the General Affairs Section of the NTU Farm, said that during the period of operation, teachers and students constantly complained about environmental problems such as messiness, inconvenient parking, and noise, as well as damaged grass and garbage, and the coming and going of vehicles affecting the originally quiet atmosphere of the campus. At the end of last year, two meetings were held, and it was decided to shut down the market on the grounds of insufficient internal equipment and facilities. After the meetings, the farmers were immediately notified, and out of consideration for farmers' rights, the closure was extended to the end of January this year. Although the NTU Farm proposed an alternative plan, the farmers did not accept it. Poor communication led to the recent series of regrettable events, for which he also apologized.

Shen Zhicheng said that the College of Agriculture believed that since the school was originally public resource, based on the principle of fairness, a small number of farmers should not be allowed to use it for free for a long time. There are several hundred organic farmers, so these few should not be given exclusive favor; instead, all organic farmers should be encouraged to set up stalls. "The dean even said, should we rotate different farmers to set up stalls every 3 months?" He said that the current farmers' organization at the market is neither willing to acknowledge the impact on the NTU campus environment during the period of operation nor willing to let other farmers take turns setting up stalls.

Because the matter was not handled properly, the university's central administration decided to suspend related market activities, and even the Bend Down Life Festival promoted by the Department of Agronomy was caught in the fallout.

Asked about farmers' criticism that the school allowed markets using conventional farming methods to enter and that an agricultural products exhibition was held on campus earlier this year, Shen Zhicheng explained that these were activities organized by the Taoyuan County Government after renting the venue and had nothing to do with the NTU Farm. The NTU Farm will continue to uphold the spirit of encouraging organic farming and start anew after review.

Regarding the school's claim that native tree species at the market site were damaged and toilets were dirtied, the farmers said they were being falsely accused. Farmer Lin Minxiang from Pingtung said that organic farmers all cherish the environment; how could they possibly destroy it?

According to people familiar with the inside story, the organic farmers' market was a plan actively promoted during the tenure of the former dean of NTU's College of Agriculture, who is also the current chairman of the Council of Agriculture, Chen Baoji. At the beginning of its establishment, they begged repeatedly before recruiting the current farmers who were willing to travel tirelessly every week to set up stalls.

Agriculture and Food Agency: Establishing a Management Mechanism Is Very Important

In order to promote organic agriculture, the Agriculture and Food Agency actively encourages the establishment of organic farmers' markets in various places and also provides funding to universities to run organic agriculture markets. Weng Zhenxin, head of the Materials Division of the Agriculture and Food Agency under the Council of Agriculture, explained that last year a subsidy of 660,000 was provided to the NTU Farmers' Market to purchase needed equipment and facilities, and this year NTU did not continue to apply for the subsidy. Regarding the recent turmoil at NTU, he believes that some disputes during the initial run-in period with farmers are inevitable, but several successful cases all point to "developing a good management mechanism."

"National Chung Hsing University has done relatively well and is already on track. At the beginning it was also noisy and contentious, but now it has a very good mechanism. Each farmer's stall contributes 5% of its income to a public fund for operations, hiring professional managers, administrative staff, and student workers," Weng Zhenxin said. In the future, management of organic farmers' markets will be strengthened, and diverse channels will be provided to market organic agricultural products.

Market Operator: Commercial Behavior Based on Weighing by the Catty Is Hard to Sustain

However, according to an interview with another manager, Mr. Wu (pseudonym), who has many years of experience running markets, he directly pointed out that "a result like NTU's was predictable. In essence, it is commercial behavior. If it is not changed, problems will arise sooner or later." He also said that when the Council of Agriculture promotes plans, it should not be too hasty and should best proceed step by step, avoiding rushed preparation.

Mr. Wu further said that NTU is a golden signboard. Relying on this signboard alone, it can attract enough customers and benefits without publicity. "But do the farmers understand the price they have to pay?" He questioned, "Is NTU running the organic farmers' market for real or just playing around? Do the organizers really care? Or do they treat it as a chore and just go through the motions?" Now the farmers have come, and consumers have come too, but things have turned out like this. Who actually benefits?

The Way to Run a Market: Clarify Goals and Build Consensus

Based on his own experience, Mr. Wu pointed out that when opening a market, it is best to clarify what the starting point is, communicate with farmers and the school, and reach consensus so that everyone agrees before proceeding, rather than being forced to do it because "other schools have all done it, or to maintain a relationship with the Council of Agriculture." Moreover, experience needs to be accumulated through long-term cultivation, not through seeking quick success and instant benefits or wanting to see results very quickly.

He also suggested that market operations should not rely too much on external funding and need to be "weaned" in order to grow strong. Taking the market he currently operates as an example, after half a year the farmers themselves began paying into a public fund to buy needed equipment and facilities, and all of it belonged to the collective, not to individuals.

Reaching the point where farmers are willing to contribute to the market requires time to accumulate, as well as initial planning and structure and spending time communicating with farmers. Moreover, every time at the market, the farmers set up and take down the tents themselves. The farmers are the bosses, rather than the market being somewhere and the farmers simply coming to participate. As a result, you are you and I am I, just participating, with no involvement and no connection.

"This takes time to form consensus, but in Taiwan it seems everything is done first and discussed later." He said that previously a certain university's College of Agriculture also approached him for cooperation, but it was rejected once it reached the General Affairs Office, so he declined the matter. He believes that when the university president comes to seek you out, it should mean that support across the whole university has already been obtained, which means the timing is ripe.

Set Thresholds and Recruit Farmers with Shared Ideals

However, regarding the NTU Farm's idea that different farmers should rotate every 3 months, he was also surprised. "Changing a group of farmers every 3 months, how exactly do you manage that? How do you communicate?" He considers this an ivory-tower approach, completely unaware of the hardships of ordinary people.

He believes thresholds can be set to recruit farmers with shared ideals, and these thresholds can be creative. For example, each person could contribute 20 hours per month, providing manpower to handle miscellaneous affairs, or, converted at 100 yuan per hour, hire student workers with fruits and vegetables worth 2,000 yuan per month, bartering goods for labor. Moreover, having farmers bear the cost would better conform to the rules of civil society rather than being merely commercial behavior. Mr. Wu explained that exchanging fruits and vegetables for labor is a "community currency."

In addition, to encourage community-based farming and shorten food miles, participation should also be limited to small farmers within the region. When farmers become their own masters, the organic farmers' market will not be only mainly about commercial behavior, and a sense of participation and connection will emerge.

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