Can the farmland law amendment be announced as scheduled in June? COA: It depends on the Ministry of the Interior's timeline
The Council of Agriculture originally planned to amend the "Regulations for the Construction of Farmhouses on Agricultural Land" before the end of June, but word spread that the Executive Yuan had put it on hold. Chen Bao-ji, the minister of the Council of Agriculture, stressed today while attending a conference held by the Department of Agricultural Economics at National Taiwan University that the Ministry of the Interior is still continuing its work, and whether the regulations can be announced before the end of June depends on the Ministry of the Interior's timeline. The Soil and Water Conservation Bureau emphasized that illegal buildings nationwide cannot all be demolished in 25 years, and that "farmhouses are not a priority for demolition by building management authorities," so management must start at the source.
Wu Rong-jie, a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at National Taiwan University, had a different view. He believes the current policy has returned to the old approach of "farmland owned by farmers and used for farming," and that the government should think about why the Agricultural Development Act originally changed "farmland owned by farmers and used for farming" into "farmland used for farming." Young people do not farm because farmland is expensive; many people whose families own land still are unwilling to come back. "So do we want to shift the focus or solve the problem?" Building farmhouses is the result, not the cause. What really needs to be considered is how to make young people willing to come back and farm, not just blocking farmhouse construction on the surface.
Cao Shao-hui, director of the Planning Division of the Council of Agriculture, emphasized that no single measure can solve all problems, "but can we therefore do away with these measures? No." Many brokers take advantage of the public's lack of understanding of the regulations. If the government does not review things in advance, many people become victims after buying farmhouses.
As for outside doubts about whether the existing regulations create even bigger problems, he believes everyone can wait and see, and if there are problems, adjustments can be made at any time.