The legislation of the Agricultural Basic Act is fundamental to agricultural development; it must be built on a solid background of theory and practice as well as policy discourse. Under such considerations, the content of the legislation certainly cannot stand apart from internal administrative organizational reform, external political and economic change, reform of the accumulated ills of past agricultural legislation that lacked thoroughness, and responding, at the height of an "agricultural constitution," to the agricultural development and food issues of the coming decades or even a century.

This article follows the typical classification of agricultural development policy theory to provide a basis for analyzing subsequent drafts of the Agricultural Basic Act. In the process, the Agricultural Basic Act is divided into an overall agricultural policy framework (manifestation of legislative goals and values, policy participation) and itemized agricultural policies (agricultural finance, farmland and farmland readjustment, agricultural modernization, agricultural production and marketing, agricultural product prices and agricultural product markets, improvement of agricultural structure, rural development, farmers' social welfare and farmer services, alternative agriculture and sustainable environment, and other related policies) for separate discussion and review.

The 2016 version of the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, the version by ninth-term Legislator Wang Huei-mei, the version by Legislator Su Chen-ching, and the version by Legislator Tsai Pei-hui are selected for side-by-side comparison of the original texts. It also attempts to propose possible directions of thought for the provisions of each version and to conduct a basic review and analysis of each policy objective. However, due to limitations of length and time, it was not possible to discuss each legal provision in depth; still, it is hoped that this can promote readers' attention to the amendment of the Agricultural Basic Act and enable individuals to evaluate each version.

Constructing the Legislative Background Discourse of the Agricultural Basic Act

Under the overall agricultural policy framework, the Council of Agriculture has a schedule for administrative organizational restructuring, as well as the impact on agricultural development of external trade shocks, agricultural insurance reform, and farmland policy; these are the legislative background that the Agricultural Basic Act must take into consideration.

Recently, the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan has faced the challenges of organizational adjustment and business reallocation, including the future transfer of the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau and the Forestry Bureau to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, while internally the rural regeneration business has been transferred to the Planning Division of the Council of Agriculture, and the food and agricultural education business has also been promised by Deputy Minister Chen Chi-chung to be executed by the Council of Agriculture. At the same time, the public has many expectations for much of the Council of Agriculture's administrative work, including the agricultural labor shortage problem, the rural ecological environment, farmland readjustment as a policy tool, promotion of food safety business, stabilization of grain price fluctuations, and promotion of the certification and verification system. At the same time, the three laws on farmers' organizations: the Farmers Association Act, the Fishermen's Association Act, and the General Regulations for the Organization of Irrigation Associations, have issues regarding their legal person status that still need to be clarified.

In addition, the dimensions of agricultural policy must also take more aspects into account due to external political and economic changes. In the face of international trade liberalization, global warming, and food safety incidents at home and abroad, agricultural development and policy face the challenge of high environmental risk; and with rapidly changing agricultural engineering technology, biological gene editing technology, and the rapid characteristics of online production and marketing, the agricultural industry has entered a state of high technology and high risk; the Council of Agriculture should further transplant the policy planning model of risk governance to respond to agricultural policy in a risk society.

Moreover, the agricultural industry itself has broken through the limitations of the past primary industry, combining digital, knowledge, leisure, cultural, and technology-oriented new business forms to create new operating models and change the past simple production-marketing relationship of agriculture; the Council of Agriculture's policies attempting large-scale production and integrated marketing for export, and supporting regional smallholder production cooperation, all appear to be single-point policy measures. In addition, past agricultural legislation such as the Agricultural Development Act, the Rural Regeneration Act, and the Temporary Regulations for Welfare Subsidies for Elderly Farmers involved compromise amendments with political intent, leading to distortions in agricultural administration and budget allocation.

Furthermore, the Rural Regeneration Act failed to promote rural industrial development, enrich the rural ecological environment, and identify rural areas with priority needs through legal norms, and the subsequent executing unit for policy planning, the "Rural Planning and Development Administration," was not established according to the original draft version, and instead the Rural Construction Division of the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau became the policy coordinating unit. Professor Tseng Hsu-cheng (2008) criticized the Rural Regeneration Act for injecting its huge fund resources into specific areas or groups and for realizing its special political purposes.

In addition, the Agricultural Development Act played a decisive role in the large-scale construction of farmhouses and the lack of rural policy tools; it also failed to manifest the value of agriculture's multifunctionality. Therefore, the current agricultural legislation and policy framework have failed to provide complete and comprehensive care for agricultural policy at the level of the policy system. Such incomplete agricultural legislation should be given new framework norms through the Agricultural Basic Act, and based on this framework, subsequent other agricultural laws and regulations should be amended.

Overall Agricultural Policy Framework

Policy Participation

The Wang version particularly emphasizes that policy should grasp long-term trends and, based on this, set medium-term plans, which is indeed a promising approach; the position of the Executive Yuan version is similar. In addition, all three versions touch on deliberation and consultation mechanisms for agricultural policy. The Wang version uses "may convene" a consultation meeting; the Su version uses "shall be subject to deliberation" with a deliberation committee serving as the gatekeeper, which is a stricter condition for policy deliberation. The Executive Yuan version also adopts the approach of requiring deliberation, but does not mention establishing a stricter consultative body.

The version by Legislator Tsai Pei-hui proposes clear target functions and organizational norms for the deliberation committee; however, under the reality that ministries should already have cross-ministerial communication mechanisms, it still provides for ministry representatives, so one may reconsider whether to replace this with clearly specifying attendance by ministry and bureau officials, consensus integration, or observer seats. However, the Tsai version additionally elaborates in detail on the central government's administrative guidelines and the division of labor with local governments, increasing the clarity of administrative guidance for agricultural departments at all levels.

This part should focus on the source, number, diversity, and representativeness of the members composing the deliberation committee, as well as how relevant ministries and interest groups coordinate related policies and implement channels for expressing public opinion. In particular, whether the content of deliberation includes major issues such as annual water resource audits, green subsidies, agricultural import and export regulations, farmland readjustment and rural community renewal, and fruit and vegetable production planning. In addition, we can expect that, as an important consultative body for agricultural policy-making, the deliberation committee may become a battlefield where various groups scramble for speaking rights when major food and agricultural incidents occur in the future.

• Wang Huei-mei version Article 4: "The central government shall, in accordance with the basic agricultural policy objectives, formulate (set) the laws, regulations, and systems needed for implementation; forecast long-term agricultural development trends, set medium-term administrative plans, and conduct regular reviews in accordance with the schedule, on which basis annual administrative guidelines and administrative plans shall be compiled.
  The central agricultural competent authority may convene agricultural policy consultation meetings to set and amend agricultural administrative guidelines and compile agricultural administrative plans."
• Su Chen-ching version Article 6: "In order to deliberate and coordinate plans and measures related to this Act, the central agricultural competent authority shall establish an Agricultural Policy Deliberation Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Deliberation Committee).
  Before the central government sets or amends agricultural administrative guidelines and compiles agricultural administrative plans in accordance with Article 4, they shall be deliberated by the Deliberation Committee.
  The Deliberation Committee shall supervise the implementation of matters related to this Act; and may submit written opinions to the central agricultural competent authority on related matters provided for in this Act."
• Executive Yuan version Article 3: "The central government shall take into account the direction of national development and social needs, and in accordance with the basic objectives set out in the preceding article, set national agricultural development-related policies and medium-term administrative plans, on which basis annual administrative guidelines and plans shall be compiled, and related laws and regulations, fiscal, and financial measures shall be set.
  When setting the policies and plans referred to in the preceding paragraph, when necessary, relevant government ministries, municipalities, and county (city) governments, agricultural scholars and experts, industry groups, and consumer groups shall be invited to participate, and regular reviews shall be conducted."
  Executive Yuan version Article 4: "In order to deliberate and coordinate measures related to this Act, the Executive Yuan shall invite relevant ministries, scholars and experts, and industry groups to convene meetings for research and deliberation."
• Tsai Pei-hui version Article 6: "In order to deliberate and coordinate plans and measures related to this Act, the central agricultural competent authority shall establish an Agricultural Policy Deliberation Committee.
  In addition to deliberating matters provided for in this Act, the Agricultural Policy Deliberation Committee shall supervise the implementation of matters related to this Act; and may submit written opinions to the central agricultural competent authority on related matters provided for in this Act.
  In order to emphasize food security, the continuity of agricultural labor, and the establishment of a reasonable supply of land and water as agricultural production resources, the Agricultural Policy Deliberation Committee shall annually evaluate the aforementioned items and assess whether policy implementation is appropriate.
  The Agricultural Policy Deliberation Committee shall have 15 members, with the head of the central agricultural competent authority serving as the chief executive officer, and the members shall be appointed by the chief executive officer upon recommendation by ministry representatives, scholars and experts, agricultural operators, and consumer groups. Its establishment, organization, and related matters shall be determined by the Executive Yuan.
  The members referred to in the preceding paragraph shall serve concurrently, ministry representatives shall not exceed one-half of the total number of members and shall change with their positions, and the remaining members shall serve a term of two years and may be reappointed once."

Manifestation of Legislative Goals and Values

Both the Wang and Su versions mention aspects such as "food security, multifunctional value, competitiveness, farmers, and sustainable development"; but the Su version additionally mentions "three lives, care system, and craft culture." The Executive Yuan version relatively emphasizes: food security, multifunctional value, and national land and urban-rural issues. The Tsai version completely proposes considerations such as ecology, family farming, advantageous agriculture, culture, gender, and even rural development.

Among them, the structure of "multifunctional value" in each version is very important; this is not only to give subsidy policy flexible interpretive space, but also an important argument when pursuing agricultural sustainability for pricing external benefits and formulating policy. The focus of the choice of related provisions lies in what exactly "multifunctional value" covers, and which policy tools support it; this will ultimately determine the future business dimensions of the agricultural sector and the completeness of the organizational division of labor structure.

• Wang Huei-mei version Article 1: "Agriculture is the foundation of the nation. In order to give play to agriculture's multifunctional value in food security, ecological conservation, rural culture, and national land security, and to enhance agricultural competitiveness, improve farmers' welfare, and ensure sustainable agricultural development, this Act is specially enacted."
  Wang Huei-mei version Article 2: "The multifunctional benefits of agriculture are shared by all citizens. In order to appropriately reciprocate agriculture's contributions and ensure the sustainable development of agriculture, all citizens should jointly safeguard agricultural environmental resources and farmers' reasonable income."
  Wang Huei-mei version Article 3: "The government shall adopt necessary measures to achieve the following basic agricultural policy objectives:
  1. Ensure national food security and conserve farmland and water resources.
  2. Improve industrial competitiveness and take care of consumer rights.
  3. Build a high-quality new countryside and enhance the quality of agricultural human resources.
  4. Safeguard agricultural ecology and the environment and promote the sustainable use of natural resources."
• Su Chen-ching version Article 1: "Agriculture is the foundation of the nation. In order to promote the nation's overall agricultural policy, give play to agriculture's multifunctional value in food security, ecological conservation, rural culture, and national land security, and to enhance agricultural competitiveness, improve farmers' welfare, achieve the diverse co-prosperity goals of agricultural production, life, and ecology, and ensure sustainable agricultural development, this Act is specially enacted."
  Su Chen-ching version Article 2: "Sustainable agricultural development refers to a safe and stable food supply, a soundly operated production and marketing environment, naturally conserved ecological resources, training of agricultural-related human resources, improvement of farmers' welfare, and the establishment of a rural care system, so as to give play to food production and multifunctional functions beyond production."
  Su Chen-ching version Article 3: "The government shall formulate specific plans to implement the following agricultural policy objectives in order to enhance agricultural competitiveness and ensure the sustainable development of agriculture:
  1. Establish a safe food production environment and supply citizens with high-quality, sufficient, and safe agricultural products.
  2. Ensure farmers' livelihoods, support family-style agricultural operations, improve agricultural production and marketing channels and structure, and increase farmers' income and welfare.
  3. Improve rural life, establish a rural life care system, enhance the quality of agricultural human resources, and pass on agricultural skills and rural culture.
  4. Safeguard agricultural ecology and the environment, and give play to agriculture's diverse functions in agricultural product supply, rural life, natural resource conservation, ecological environment conservation, national land security, and social stability."
• Executive Yuan version Article 1: "In order to provide for the basic objectives of agriculture-related policies and the basic matters for realizing each such objective, and through the division of labor between the central and local governments, comprehensively and systematically promote all citizens' participation in agriculture development-related policies, with the purpose of enhancing the people's livelihood economy and the welfare of all citizens, this Act is specially enacted."
  Executive Yuan version Article 2: "The government and private sectors shall work together to adopt necessary measures to achieve the following basic objectives of agricultural development:
  1. Construct a food security system, improve food self-sufficiency capacity, expand local agricultural product consumption, and ensure a stable supply of high-quality food.
  2. Strengthen agricultural competitiveness, improve production and marketing infrastructure, cultivate agricultural professional human resources, promote the reasonable and circular use of farmland, agricultural water, and other resources, strengthen research, development, and extension, and enhance operating efficiency and agricultural income.
  3. Create a sustainably developing countryside, improve regional agricultural production and marketing and living functions, strengthen natural resource conservation, develop environmentally friendly agriculture, give play to the multifunctional value of ecological conservation, rural culture, leisure and healthy living, and national land security, and promote mutual benefit and co-prosperity between urban and rural areas."
• Tsai Pei-hui version Article 1: "Agriculture is the foundation of the nation. In order to ensure the basic policies of agriculture, farmers, villages, and resource conservation, maintain agriculture's multifunctional value in national development, social economy, food security, national land security, ecological conservation, rural culture, rural landscape, and the use of farmland for agriculture, and to clearly define the powers, responsibilities, and tasks of the central and local governments, promote related policies in a planned manner, ensure sustainable agricultural development, adapt to extreme climate, improve farmers' welfare, and raise the food self-sufficiency rate, this Act is specially enacted."
  Tsai Pei-hui version Article 3: "The government shall formulate specific plans to implement the following agricultural policy objectives and ensure the sustainable development of agriculture:
  1. Give play to agriculture's diverse functions in social and economic stability, food security, national land security, soil and water resource conservation, ecological conservation, rural cultural preservation, and rural landscape maintenance.
  2. Establish a safe food production environment, maintain food production resources, supply citizens with high-quality, sufficient, stable, and safe agricultural products, enhance agriculture's adaptive capacity in response to climate change, and, in order to avoid a food crisis, set clear annual improvement targets for the food self-sufficiency rate.
  3. Construct an environment for sustainable agricultural operation and a regional development system, improve agriculture's technical and financial support system, stabilize the link between the agricultural production chain and the consumer market, and promote local agricultural production and local consumption.
  4. Strengthen agriculture's improvement of rural living quality and the environment, establish a rural life care and public service system, and maintain the integrity of farming and rural landscapes.
  5. Construct advantageous agriculture, strengthen market-oriented industrial competitiveness, establish a responsible agriculture system, implement standard operating procedures and an agricultural product quality certification system aligned with the world, so as to achieve the sustainable development of agriculture.
  6. Support the operation of family farms, improve production and marketing channels and structures for sustainable operation, maintain the input and renewal of agricultural labor, enhance farmers' agricultural knowledge, technology, innovation capacity, and competitiveness, ensure gender and social equality for farmers in agricultural operations and rural society, and increase farmers' income and welfare.
  7. Ensure that agriculture gives play to the value of the ecological environment, promote the development and use of farming methods suited to that environment, and enhance environmental disaster reduction and prevention capacity in agricultural production areas.
  8. Enhance citizens' emphasis on food and agricultural culture, improve the industrial environment for food and agricultural culture, and ensure the transmission of our country's diverse food and agricultural culture."

Inventory of Itemized Agricultural Policies

Agricultural Finance

All three versions mention government intervention in agricultural finance through credit guarantees. The Wang version additionally mentions low-interest and special project loan policies, and further emphasizes the use of financial and information systems and efficiency improvement; regarding information systems, one may imagine whether financialization and speculation in agricultural finance will become more serious, or whether agricultural producers can more easily profit from such information. The Su version emphasizes reasonable subsidies, continuing welfare- and assistance-style policies.

The Executive Yuan version emphasizes the operating funds of farmers and agribusinesses, clearly showing an intention toward corporatization and scaling up. The Tsai version emphasizes farmers' microcredit, differing from the agribusiness-centered viewpoint of agricultural industry development. Since finance is the foundation of all undertakings, the key judgment for this item lies in what kind of operating units future agricultural finance will support. Can families and agribusinesses have equal opportunities, establish a financial system with credit and reputation as well as regulatory work, and prevent agricultural financial institutions from becoming similar to the situation where legislators aligned with elderly farmers hollowed out the credit departments of farmers' and fishermen's associations, or from becoming accomplices in recent years to land speculation through borrowing and other agriculture-destroying behavior.

• Wang Huei-mei version Article 20: "The government shall maintain the balance of agricultural production and marketing, promote the modernization and diversified development of marketing channels; assist in constructing an agricultural product logistics service system, combine the shared use of agricultural finance and information systems, promote the efficiency of agricultural production, marketing, and distribution, and support market expansion."
  Wang Huei-mei version Article 22: "The government shall guide the development of the agricultural financial system, enhance the operating performance of agricultural financial institutions, and maintain agricultural financial order.
  The government shall strengthen the agricultural credit guarantee system, promote policy-oriented agricultural special project loans, assist agricultural operators in obtaining low-interest financing, and promote agricultural development."
• Su Chen-ching version Article 32: "The central competent authority shall establish an agricultural credit guarantee system to assist agricultural operators in obtaining the funds needed for agricultural operations, and may provide reasonable subsidies to agricultural credit guarantee institutions.
  The central competent authority shall allocate budgets to handle guarantees for unsecured credit loans of a certain amount for farmers and fishermen, in order to assist farmers and fishermen in maintaining their livelihoods and agricultural production."
• Executive Yuan version Article 21: "The government shall continue to promote policy-oriented agricultural special project loans, establish an agricultural credit guarantee system and enrich its underwriting capacity, and assist farmers and agribusinesses in obtaining the funds needed for operations."
• Tsai Pei-hui version Article 17: "The government shall guide the development of the agricultural financial system, improve the agricultural financial system, maintain agricultural financial order, enhance the operating performance of agricultural financial institutions, strengthen the agricultural credit guarantee system, assist agricultural operators in obtaining the funds needed for agricultural operations, and promote agricultural development.
  The government shall adopt necessary measures to encourage agricultural financial institutions to give priority in financing to farmers, promote microcredit, and improve the social grassroots support function of agricultural finance."

Farmland and Farmland Readjustment

In the versions, using farmland for agriculture is set as a consensus, yet the interpretive space of the law leaves varying degrees of convenience for farmland conversion in each version. The Wang version emphasizes the reasonable use of farmland through grading, zoning, and total quantity, but still leaves a back door of "respecting the willingness to convert." The Su version emphasizes total quantity control and that "conversion shall be prescribed by law," and emphasizes specialized production zones; in addition, it echoes the spirit of national land conservation and pollution prevention. The Executive Yuan version also has similar positions, emphasizing the total quantity and quality grading and classification of farmland and taking into account national land planning and agricultural policy objectives.

The Tsai version proceeds through overall planning and land management, and does not specifically mention read