National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST), the Association of Taiwan Organic Agriculture Promotion, and the Agricultural Technology Park Administration Center (Ministry of Agriculture), held a conference on November 16 and 17 (2023) at the NPUST Convention and Exhibition Hall. For the two-day “Organic Agriculture Production and Marketing Strategy Seminar”, experts in the field, including Chung-Ching Huang, head of the Agricultural Resources Section of the Agricultural and Food Agency (MOA), and Ting-Lin Chang, director of the Taiwan Seed Improvement and Propagation Station (MOA) were invited to discuss “Taiwan’s Organic Agriculture Promotion Strategies” and “Taiwan’s Organic Seed Mass Production Strategies”, respectively. The seminar included discussions on the application of microbial preparations, organic crop cultivation production management technology, organic crop pest control, organic agricultural product processing, organic agricultural product marketing, and carbon emission reduction cultivation technology of organic farming. A fruitful exchange of research results took place between experts and scholars at the seminar, in what was a rare opportunity for such a group of people with grand ideas for the development of organic agriculture in Taiwan to get together in one room.
Organic agriculture practitioners advocate for the recycling of organic materials in order to cultivate healthy soil and produce robust crops. Rotational farming systems which are suitable for local environments are applied to encourage farmland biodiversity and achieve ecological balance. At the same time, through biological control practices, farmers are able to reduce the harm of pests and diseases, and overcome climate-change related problems such as poor yields.
With respect to “net-zero emission” objectives, since organic fields do not use chemical or synthetic substances, they are able to effectively reduce the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, while increasing the organic carbon content of soil. As it helps conserve the ecosystem while producing safe and high-quality products, organic agriculture is beneficial both to human and animal health—and plays valuable role when it comes to sustainable agriculture.
