By Kuo Hsiu-chen and Lin Hui-chen, reporters for Upstream News and Downstream News

The revision of the farmhouse regulations triggered backlash from farmers' associations and elected representatives in Taitung, Nantou and other areas, who threatened that through the county and city agriculture heads they would present their grievances to Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Bao-ji at yesterday's National Conference of Agriculture Heads. The meeting had been expected to be full of thunderous criticism, but unexpectedly the atmosphere on site was very calm. According to what was learned, most of the local agricultural administrative representatives attending the forum strongly supported the policy, and some even demanded that the definition of a farmer under the administrative order be made clearer so that local units could cooperate in enforcement.

Local agricultural administrative representatives: "Full cooperation"

The COA convened the first forum of the 104th year (2015) National Conference of Agriculture Heads this afternoon. In response to the COA's plan to revise the "Regulations for Building Farmhouses on Agricultural Land" before the end of June, requiring that only farmers may buy farmhouses, many local farmers' associations, councilors and legislators pushed back. Legislator Chen Chao-ming even issued a press release on the 1st, claiming that Executive Yuan Secretary-General Jian Tai-lang had promised to suspend the revision.

The meeting had been expected to be full of thunderous criticism, but unexpectedly most of the local agriculture heads attending did not clearly express opposition. Among them, Nantou, whose number of farmhouses built in recent years is second only to Yilan, its local representative also said they would fully cooperate with the COA's revision, and that they had already begun strengthening inspections of existing farmhouses.

After days of controversy over the farmhouse revision, COA Minister Chen Bao-ji smiled broadly at the National Conference of Agriculture Heads