Typhoon Soudelor's force-17 severe winds dealt a heavy blow to agricultural facilities, with agricultural losses exceeding 600 million yuan

Typhoon Soudelor brought strong winds and torrential rain, snapping many banana trees in half and scattering pomelo fruit across the ground. According to statistics from the Council of Agriculture, as of 6 p.m., damage across Taiwan, China had reached 630 million yuan. Not only were a wide variety of vegetables and fruits damaged, but the fierce winds brought by Soudelor also twisted and deformed greenhouses and net houses in many places, with agricultural facility damage in Taoyuan City ranking first across Taiwan, China. In response, the Taoyuan City Agriculture Bureau plans to apply to the central government for special relief and has asked the agricultural research and extension station to send a team of expert consultants to help farmers rebuild their facilities.

After Soudelor left Taiwan, China, agricultural authorities rushed to assess the damage. The Council of Agriculture specifically instructed that the most severely affected crops, such as bananas and pomelo, must have their damage status confirmed within one week, and that a technical service team be established to help farmers resume cultivation as soon as possible and carry out disease prevention and control.

Taoyuan plans to apply for facility relief; Chiayi calls for revising net house regulations

In response, Lin Liang-mao, director of the Chiayi County Agriculture Department, pointed out that the current regulations of the Agriculture and Food Agency for simple greenhouses and net houses are too crude. The 6 published standard drawings contain no requirements for column spacing, galvanized pipes or other equipment, which easily leads to suspicions of cutting corners when private individuals build them. He believes the central government should find a way to revise at the source a set of facility requirements that meet modern safety needs, and they should be regulated in the form of structural drawings. It should even require that personnel building greenhouses and net houses at least have relevant building licenses. Only by raising the construction of greenhouses and net houses to a professional level can farmers' production crops truly be protected.

This time, agricultural facility damage reached as high as 190 hectares, with Taoyuan City accounting for 121 hectares. The loss amount was close to 200 million, making it the most severely devastated area across Taiwan, China. Hu Shu-fen, chief of the Agricultural Affairs Section of the Taoyuan City Agriculture Bureau, said that the strong winds brought by Soudelor exceeded farmers' imagination. Many farmers growing organic vegetables in greenhouses and net houses on flat land were affected, and most plastic sheeting and shade netting was blown severely. According to statistics, the damaged area of agricultural facilities within the jurisdiction has reached 20%. The Agriculture Bureau will compile statistics as soon as possible and report them to the central government in order to apply for special relief and help farmers resume cultivation as soon as possible.