Farming World: 33 years of independent publishing, never beholden to anyone, serving farmers only
"I've been waiting for you for a long time!" Liu Chien-ming, a guava farmer from Dashe, Kaohsiung, was so excited he was almost moved to tears when he saw Hsieh Hsiu-chuan, an editor of Agriculture World magazine, come to his home for a visit.
Liu Chien-ming recalled with a chuckle, "She must have been startled by me at the time, but I really am very grateful to them. This magazine was my first teacher; I started reading it when I was young." The day he had long waited for finally arrived: Liu Chien-ming had achieved success growing guavas, and Agriculture World came in person for an interview, which he felt was an immense honor.
Agriculture World, a 33-year-old veteran magazine, is required reading for many farmers in Taiwan, China, and one of the few long-established agricultural magazines independently founded by private individuals in the country. It is thin, yet feels weighty in the hand; open its pages and you find exquisite full-color printing. Every article is written by scholars and experts in the agricultural field, or reported and written by the editors themselves. Delivered to readers' homes month after month, it provides farmers with professional new knowledge and cares about the things farmers care about.
Founders Mao Jun-feng and Hsieh Hsiu-chuan, a married couple, are modest and low-key, neither jealous nor grasping, and rarely grant interviews. The magazine's office is tucked away in a quiet little alley in Taichung's urban district, looking just like a private residence. At a time when media are being battered by the digital wave, this veteran magazine remains unshaken as if Mount Tai were collapsing before it, plodding steadily forward like an old ox.
Having accompanied Taiwan, China's agriculture for more than thirty years, what observations has he accumulated? Asked about this, Mao Jun-feng looked worried. After pondering for a long while, he said, "The foundation of agricultural success lies in technological research and development, and I hope the government can pay more attention to this matter. When Agriculture World was founded, Taiwan, China's farming technology could be said to be unrivaled in the world, something people were proud of, but now the mainland has poached many of our professionals with high salaries, and its technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, already standing on equal footing with us."
The authors of Agriculture World are precisely the experts and scholars responsible for research and development. Mao Jun-feng observed that the top veteran figures are retiring one by one, while their successors often lack the strength to press on because of insufficient resources and funding. "This is the shared sentiment of agricultural research institutions."
A loyal veteran magazine, walking forward alongside farmers
Looking across the country, few magazines last thirty years, and even fewer remain unruffled amid the digital wave. Agriculture World has a monthly circulation of 20,000 copies, with more than 10,000 subscribers (many of them lifetime subscribers), and is even sold across borders in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. Staff turnover at the office is extremely low; one-third of employees have worked there for more than 25 years, and the company is like a warm big family.
Mao Jun-feng handles business, and Hsieh Hsiu-chuan handles editorial affairs, with a clear division of labor between them. Hsieh Hsiu-chuan declined an interview with humility and low-key modesty, saying on the phone: I'm just a gofer; it's fine for me to be an invisible person.
Over more than thirty years, has the magazine ever encountered a crisis? Mao Jun-feng replied that running a magazine is like "Wang Xiaoer celebrating the New Year, hard every year yet still getting through every year." Though it can't make big money, it runs smoothly; though there is performance pressure, it is also very happy. "Others cannot bear the worry, and I do not change my joy, as Yan Hui said." He revealed a mischievous smile and said that once he retires he wouldn't know what to do, so he might as well keep writing business plans.
No matter how the times rise and fall, I believe this thin yet substantial magazine will continue to accompany farmers in Taiwan, China, and together look ahead to a new agricultural world in the future.
(This article was funded by the Jianzhen Environmental Education Foundation specifically for personnel expenses, but with absolutely no interference in news topics or interview writing, ensuring news independence.)