The Tropical Agriculture Sustainable Carbon Management Symposium was organized under the guidance of the (COA) Agriculture and Food Administration, NPUST College of Agriculture and Department of Plant Industry, Agronomy Society of Taiwan, the Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park’s Preparatory Office, and the Academia-Industry Consortium for Agricultural Biotechnology Parks. The jointly organized event was held on November 15th at the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) International Conference Hall on the 4th floor of the university library.
Experimental agriculture agencies and academic and industry experts who are committed to “net zero” agricultural were invited to discuss carbon emission management technologies which are currently used in Taiwan’s agriculture industries. The purpose was to have an in-depth discussion on such topics as the “Policies and the Current Status of Emission Reduction and Sink Expansion”, “Sustainable Carbon Management Strategies for Net Zero Goals”, “Carbon Emissions and Carbon Sequestration Theories and Methods”, and “Examples of Sustainable Carbon Management on Farmlands”. Through the exchange and sharing of experiences, hopes are to promote the development of diversified carbon reduction and sink expansion on tropical farmland in Taiwan.
Juang Lao-dar, Executive Director of the (COA) Office for Climate Change Adaptation and Net Zero Emissions Projects delivered a speech, saying, “the purpose of the symposium is to let everyone share and exchange research results. The responsibility of the Council of Agriculture is to turn those research results into policies, so that they can be promoted thoroughly in the agricultural field”. Vice-Dean Yi-Hsien Lin of the NPUST College of Agriculture said, “at today’s symposium, everyone is gathered together to discuss, exchange and share their own experiences, which is also the most important purpose of holding this gathering—and also to enhance and give attention to the development of policies for reducing emissions and increasing sinks in agriculture.”
NPUST Plant Industry Professor Horng-Liang Lay, who also serves as chairman for the Agronomy Society of Taiwan said, “it is hoped that through the holding of the Tropical Agriculture Sustainable Carbon Management Symposium, not only will experts and scholars share real cases, but also, through this event, more people will have a chance to communicate.”
Experts and scholars who were invited to participate in the symposium came from the (COA) Climate Change Adaptation and Net Zero Emission Project Office; (COA) Agriculture and Food Agency; Chinese Climate Change and Agricultural Development Society; Chung Hsing University, Feng Chia University; Mingdao University, Pingtung University of Science and Technology; (COA) Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute; (COA) Endemic Species Research Institute; and the Taiwan University Experimental Forest Management Office.
Addressing the first theme, which was on Policies and the Current Status of Emission Reduction and Sink Expansion, the keynote speeches were delivered by Executive Director Juang Lao-dar of the (COA) Office for Climate Change Adaptation and Net Zero Emissions Projects and Chairman Zueng-Sang Chen of Chinese Climate Change and Agricultural Development Society.
While exploring the second theme, Sustainable Carbon Management Strategies for Net Zero Goals, discussions were held on such topics such as “carbon emission inventory” and “net zero emissions in farmland weed management” by Professor Jyh-Horng Chou of Feng Chia University and Chair Professor Chwen-Ming Yang of Mingdao University.
Within the context of Carbon Emissions and Carbon Sequestration Theories and Methods, NPUST Professor Hung-I Chen, Assistant Researcher Ching-Wen Wang of the Endemic Species Research Institute, and Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute Associate Researcher Chien-Hui Hsu discussed the calculation of forest carbon sequestration, carbon storage and carbon sinks in Taiwan’s agricultural and forest areas.
Lastly, under the fourth theme of “Examples of Farmland Sustainable Carbon Management”, NPUST Professors Tzu-Che Lin and Shih-Hao Jien, along with NTU Experimental Forest Management researcher, Po-Neng Chiang, shared on low-carbon rice production, costs and revenue from mountain area carbon sinks in the tropics, flat land afforestation and carbon increase.
Following the discussion period, on-site tours of the NPUST Sustainable Farm and the Taiwan Tea Corporation’s Laopi Farm were arranged. Hopes are that the on-site visits will bring additional attention to the development of policies designed to reduce agricultural emissions and increase carbon sinks—and that agriculturalists will be able to effectively apply the relevant methods to their operations, thus helping Taiwan move towards the goal of net zero.
Agriculture is regarded as the most carbon heavy industry. In order to achieve the objective of carbon neutrality by 2050, NPUST, as the top institution for tropical agriculture in Taiwan, is duty-bound to explore and implement sustainable production and smart agriculture. Through scholarly exchange and cooperation with public departments, academic research units, and enterprises, the university can help move the industry towards its goals. Furthermore, by building on the four main themes of the Tropical Agriculture Sustainable Carbon Management Symposium,” it will even try to see the net-zero emissions attained in agriculture as early as 2040.
