Where Do Quanshun Organic Rice Contract Farmers Go From Here? Agriculture and Food Agency Promises to Refer Them Elsewhere

Quanshun Food Enterprise Co., Ltd. has violated the Grain Management Act four times since September, and the Council of Agriculture revoked its grain dealer license, the first such case in 60 years, affecting more than 130 hectares of organic rice contract-farming farmers under its umbrella. The Council of Agriculture said the organic certification for the farmers' rice in the fields remains valid, but an organically certified processing plant must be found, and the Council of Agriculture will do its utmost to refer other operators to purchase the crop; Yuanli contract-farming farmer Chen Wen-long said the second-crop rice has all been delivered in full, and no contract has been signed yet for next year, but Yuanli's organic rice is of good quality, so sales should not be a problem.

Quanshun's license revoked, organic farmers' certification eligibility unaffected

Quanshun is the third-largest grain dealer in the country. It began growing organic rice in Miaoli in 1996 and made its name with "duck-rice" (rice grown in paddies shared with ducks). It currently has contract-farming arrangements with four organic rice production and marketing groups in Miaoli, covering more than 130 hectares in total and about 130 farming households. After news of a possible license revocation emerged last week, many farmers worried that sales would be affected.

After the revocation was confirmed today, Chen Jian-bin, deputy director-general of the Agriculture and Food Agency, said organic certification is divided into field certification and processing plant certification. After Quanshun's license is revoked, its rice mill can no longer process the crop, but the farmers' organic certification is unaffected. If farmers need help, the Council of Agriculture will refer other operators to purchase their rice.

Quanshun has already purchased the entire second crop. Chen Wen-long, a contract-farming farmer in Yuanli, Miaoli, said he has contract-farmed more than one hectare of rice paddies with Quanshun since 2000, and most of the surrounding organic households also sold to Quanshun. Farmers do not know what Quanshun's plans are for the future, but the Agriculture and Food Agency has promised to help with referrals. Contracts are signed on a one-year basis, this year's contract has already run its course, and next year's matters can wait until next year. "Things will work out in the end!"

Chen Jian-bin said that if Quanshun fails to purchase the crop under the contract-farming agreement, there may be a breach-of-contract issue, but grain-related regulations do not cover this part, and the matter still needs to be looked into proactively.

Public grain purchases transferred to Yuanli Farmers' Association

Besides organic farmers, Quanshun also purchased rice on a large scale around Miaoli and each year handled public grain procurement. This year, however, the Council of Agriculture canceled its public grain procurement qualification for the second crop. The Council of Agriculture said that next year it will guide farmers to transfer public grain deliveries to the Yuanli Township Farmers' Association, help the association add wet-grain collection and transport stations and drying equipment, and farmers can also find other drying centers to dry their grain before delivering the dried grain to the farmers' association.

As for ordinary purchasing farmers, Lee Tsang-lang, director-general of the Agriculture and Food Agency, said that although Quanshun's license was revoked, it still holds other grain dealer licenses, so "it should be able to help with purchases."

Huang Chiu-tien, director of the sales department of the Yuanli Township Farmers' Association, said Yuanli is Miaoli's grain barn, with 1600 hectares of rice paddies, accounting for more than half of Miaoli's total. Sixty percent of farmers deliver their grain to the farmers' association, while most of the rest is purchased by Quanshun. The farmers' association collects about 4,000 tonnes of wet grain for the first crop, while Quanshun collects about 2,000-plus tonnes.

Huang Chiu-tien acknowledged that taking on all of Quanshun's farmers at present would be difficult, and equipment must be added before next year's first-crop purchase, or the farmers must be distributed among operators in nearby areas. But Yuanli has pure water quality, drawing on the Daan River, which originates in Yushan, and its soil is also suitable for rice paddies, so quality has always been good and sales should not be a problem.