Pilot Rice Direct Payment Scheme Expands to 50 Districts, Covering 23% of the Nation's Rice-Growing Area

Ever since the Council of Agriculture announced that "nationwide pilot rice direct payments will begin next year," the Agriculture and Food Agency has been steadily expanding the area of the counties, cities, townships and districts taking part in the direct payment pilot, from the 6 pilot districts of Yangmei District in Taoyuan City, Xinpu Township in Hsinchu County, Longjing District in Taichung City, Fuxing Township in Changhua County, Puzi City in Chiayi County and Liuying District in Tainan City in August last year to 20 pilot districts for the first rice crop in April this year; now it has announced that 50 more counties, cities, townships and districts will be added to pilot direct payments for the second rice crop this year, and the Agriculture and Food Agency expects to complete the "nationwide" pilot rice direct payment scheme during next year's first rice crop.

The Agriculture and Food Agency said that with 50 more counties, cities, townships and districts now added to the rice direct payment pilot, "basically every county and city across the country will have at least one more township in the pilot, and Taichung City is running the pilot citywide." The pilot area is expected to reach 23,818 hectares, accounting for 23% of the nation's rice-growing area. Looking at how the pilot has grown from 6 districts to 20 and now to 50, the pilot area has risen step by step from 4% to 8% and now to the projected 23%.

Applicants who actually received payment for the first rice crop accounted for 5.04% of the nation's total rice-growing area

Although the pilot area is gradually expanding, during the pilot period rice farmers still have two options: direct payment of at least NT$10,000 per hectare, or guaranteed-price purchase, so the area for which direct payment is actually applied is what really matters. Huang Chao-hsing, head of the Grain Storage and Distribution Section of the Agriculture and Food Agency, said that in the 6 pilot districts in August last year, 49% of rice farmers applied for direct payment, and the rice-growing area under direct payment accounted for 2% of the nation's total rice-growing area; in the 20 pilot districts in April this year, 63% of rice farmers applied for direct payment, and the rice-growing area under direct payment accounted for 5.04% of the nation's total rice-growing area; now that the pilot has expanded to 50 counties, cities, townships and districts, the results cannot be calculated until the August application deadline.

Rice direct payment: from NT$10,000 to NT$15,000

The Agriculture and Food Agency said that the rice direct payment for the second crop of 2017 (ROC year 106) matches the NT$10,000 per hectare paid for the second crop of 2016 (ROC year 105), and that farmers who contract with a rice production-and-marketing contract farming group area will receive an additional contract farming incentive of NT$1,500 per hectare, for a total of NT$11,500 per hectare, with the rice they produce purchased at a higher price by the contract farming entity, yielding returns higher than delivering to the public granary, while also allowing people to enjoy refined domestically produced rice, creating a win-win for producers and consumers.

In addition, the Agriculture and Food Agency said that as long as a farmer's land is located in a pilot district and that plot was declared for rice planting in the second crop of any year from 2013 to 2015 (ROC years 102-104), or was used for contract farming group areas or leased rice planting under the small-landlord, large-professional-farmer scheme, the farmer may apply for the rice direct payment at the local township office or farmers' association within the supplementary change declaration period of the "Adjustment of Farming System and Activation of Farmland Plan." The Agriculture and Food Agency urged farmers to note that applying for the rice direct payment is more flexible and absolutely guaranteed, and called on farmers in the pilot districts to apply enthusiastically during the local application period.