Agricultural Workers and Peasants Committee Broadly Seeks Professional and Technical Personnel; the Unemployed, Those Serving Sentences, and Holiday Farmers All Take the Field
Labor shortages in agriculture are nothing new. The agricultural and food industry faces year-round labor shortages of 10,000 people each year, and seasonal shortages are even more severe, with 90,000 people missing each month. The Council of Agriculture hopes to solve the labor shortage within two to three years, and Premier Lin Chuan of the Executive Yuan has even called for results that are "noticeable within one year."
The Council of Agriculture announced the "2+2 Plan" yesterday (the 8th), attempting to tackle short-term agricultural labor shortages through a multi-pronged approach that includes recruiting an agricultural professional technical team, farm work service teams, an open prison program, and a holiday farmer team.
In response to the Council of Agriculture's policy, many farmers say it is not very feasible and still hope to open up agricultural foreign labor. But Council of Agriculture Minister Tsao Chi-hung and Deputy Minister Chen Chi-chung stressed that only after all methods have been tried domestically and it is confirmed that the domestic population still cannot solve the labor shortage will they further consider opening up agricultural foreign labor.
Taking stock of how many workers are missing within half a year
Agricultural labor shortages have been talked about for a long time, but what is the actual labor shortage situation for each type of farm work at present? Council of Agriculture Deputy Minister Chen Chi-chung admitted that "we still need to take stock," and promised to establish a task-oriented dedicated office within one month to specifically assess the actual labor shortage situation in each area, for each crop, and in each season and month, with the stocktaking work to be completed within half a year at the earliest.
"Farming is also a profession." Chen Chi-chung said that therefore the plan is to promote the establishment of an "agricultural professional technical team," recruiting members with agricultural professional backgrounds and relevant professional licenses to assist with grafting, field management, and other professional farm work.
"But localities are still very short of short-term labor." Chen Chi-chung pointed out that the Ministry of Labor has already set up farm work service teams in six counties and cities across Taiwan, recruiting 320 unemployed people to enter agricultural work, but the first phase of that plan will expire in June next year, and the Council of Agriculture will cooperate with the Ministry of Labor and take over its administration.
Chang Chih-sheng, director of the Council of Agriculture's Counseling Division, further explained that at present the Ministry of Labor provides a monthly incentive of 8,800 yuan to farm work service team employees. In the future this incentive will continue to be retained, and labor and health insurance will also be handled through farmers' organizations that assist with integration and scheduling as the unit, "The plan will continue to be carried out and will not stop."
Chang Chih-sheng further stated that the first phase plans to pilot 20 farm work service teams and expects to recruit 7,500 members; in addition, 3 professional technical teams will be gradually established, each recruiting 30 to 50 members, with a three-month trial, "If it works well, then through observation and pilot platforms, it can be gradually promoted."
Open prisons and holiday farmers increase short-term labor
In addition to technical teams and farm work teams, the Council of Agriculture also plans to increase the short-term labor force into farm work through channels such as introducing open prisons and holiday farmers.
Chang Chih-sheng said that in the past open prisons had never been put into agriculture, but now discussions have been held with the Agency of Corrections, and after a preliminary assessment, it should be possible to provide nearly 100 people to work on local farms, solving labor shortages on nearby farms, and in the future this can be gradually expanded depending on conditions.
As for how the holiday farmer team will recruit? Chang Chih-sheng explained that previously in Kaohsiung, holiday farmers willing to help with farm work had already been recruited through an app, and the cooperation was quite good. In the future, it should be possible for the holiday farmer team to handle harvesting work such as carrots and sweet potatoes that requires less professional skill.
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Council of Agriculture: Only after all methods have been tried will agricultural foreign labor be considered
Council of Agriculture Minister Tsao Chi-hung and Deputy Minister Chen Chi-chung both stressed that at present they are temporarily not considering opening up agricultural foreign labor, and they will certainly wait until all methods have been tried domestically and it is confirmed that the domestic population still cannot solve the labor shortage before further considering opening up.
But the problems raised by farmers are not being heard for the first time. Chang Chih-sheng said that the agricultural labor force is already insufficient, and it is necessary to find people from fields outside agriculture and bring in new blood for farming before it is possible to fill the gap.
But if the hired workers come and go, will it still be difficult to solve the labor shortage? Chang Chih-sheng said that this is the same as in all other industries and trades; employees all have the right to choose their work, "It is inevitable that some employees will work for a while, find they cannot do it, and then leave." But it is still necessary to open new paths and let as many people as possible who can do the work enter the agricultural field.