Herbicide ban does not cover agricultural land; the central government plans to introduce mandatory provisions alongside it
The Yilan County government announced a ban on herbicides at the end of last year, and a few days ago the county government even said that if farmers use herbicides on river-land plots, their lease rights will be revoked. But some farmers point out that the problem of herbicide abuse on farmland is even bigger: some farmers or custom-farming operators still use herbicides before plowing, which is a pointless extra step. Chen Deng-qin, director of the Yilan County Environmental Protection Bureau, admitted frankly that current laws can only prohibit herbicide use on non-farmland, and expressed hope that the central government will legislate in support. The Agriculture and Food Agency said it is happy to see this happen and can study the matter if the Yilan County government has such a need.
Spraying herbicides before plowing: fallow subsidies could be revoked in the future
It is now the plowing season in Yilan. Because of insufficient sunlight and excessive rain in the second half of the year, most second-crop rice paddies in Yilan are left fallow, and farmers mostly plant sesbania (Sesbania cannabina) as green manure and collect fallow subsidies.
Yang Zhi-huang, an organic farmer in Babao Community, Dongshan Township, Yilan County, pointed out that some farmers or custom-farming operators use herbicides before plowing, but in fact the sesbania gets turned into the soil during plowing anyway, so spraying herbicide is simply a pointless extra step, "truly baffling." In addition, some farmers leave their second crop fallow but still spray herbicides to maintain the field ridges, "unable to tolerate even a bit of weeds."
Yilan custom-farming operators pointed out that using herbicides before plowing is mainly done on some long-abandoned fallow fields where the grass has grown too long, or when the operator's machinery is relatively old, which is why herbicides are sprayed first. In response, Chen Deng-qin said helplessly: "Guilty conscience and heartache." Sesbania does not hinder farmers' plowing at all, so there is absolutely no need to use herbicides; although the Yilan County government has banned herbicides, the law can only regulate urban planning land outside agricultural zones.
Yang Zhi-huang stressed that many water birds pass through Yilan in winter, weeds are a paradise for living things, and field ridges are rarely used during the fallow period. If the central government could prohibit farmers from spraying herbicides during this period, it would be a great blessing for both the ecology and for farmers practicing friendly cultivation. Chen Deng-qin responded that many farmers use herbicides on field ridges and toss molluscicide to control golden apple snails before the first crop, polluting water sources; and that February is the vegetable harvest season, when farmers use irrigation ditches to wash vegetables, so besides urging vegetable farmers to use ditch water less, the Environmental Protection Bureau will also strengthen water quality monitoring next year.
But Chen Deng-qin admitted that banning herbicides cannot be done by local efforts alone; the central government should clearly declare that herbicide use is not encouraged, and even revoke fallow subsidies as a punishment if farmers are found using herbicides before plowing.
