This blog takes a look at the major arenas of the flourishing organic movement in Taiwan, the host of the 21st IFOAM Organic World Congress in 2024.
From the introduction of a legal framework for third-party certification in 2007 to the implementation of the Organic Agriculture Promotion Act in 2019, Taiwan has been through a decade-long leap in its organic movement. The Act aims to promote organic agriculture and agroecology as solutions to climate change and net-zero carbon emission. As of 2023, there is a total of 17,365 hectares of organically certified and 6,749 hectares of eco-friendly agricultural land in Taiwan, accounting for 3.09% of the total farmland on the island.
Organic on the Field: Organic Agriculture Promotion Zones
According to Article 6 of the Organic Agriculture Promotion Act, local governments may assign organic agriculture promotion zones. State-owned land or lands owned by state enterprises available for agricultural use should be prioritized as promotion zones.
Local governments can assist farmers in these zones who have not yet adopted organic production to seek transition and to take necessary measures to prevent organic farmland from being contaminated by adjacent fields.
As of 2023, three organic agriculture promotion zones have been set up, covering approximately 219 hectares.
What Do Organic Farmers in Taiwan Grow?
Get to know more two major organic crops of Taiwan: organic rice and organic tea.
Organic rice is a relatively mature and easy-to-enter category in Taiwan’s organic crop production. Properly managed organic rice fields can have yields comparable to conventional fields.
By the end of 2023, the area of organic rice cultivation in Taiwan has reached 3,423 hectares, making it the largest single crop category, accounting for about 20% of the total organic crop area and 1.4% of the rice cultivation area of Taiwan.
Watch how organic rice in Taiwan takes shape from ground to table. © Taiwan Organic Tea & Food.
The main production areas of organic tea are in Nantou County, Hualien County, Kaohsiung City, and New Taipei City. Common and characteristic tea varieties of Taiwan include Oolong tea and black tea.
Since 2019, the Nantou Global Tea Expo has featured an organic-themed tea exhibition hall, organized by the Agriculture and Food Agency and commissioned to the
Tse-Xin Organic Agriculture Foundation. Each year, 100 varieties of Taiwanese organic tea are selected to attract public recognition and appreciation. (Find out more about the Nantou Tea Expo this year
here, Chinese only).
In 2020, the Tea Research Station of the Council of Agriculture (now the Tea and Beverage Research Station) and Taipei Liu-Kung Agriculture Foundation held the TAGs of the
First National Organic Tea Classification and Grading activity. They also launched the
Taiwan Specialty Teas Flavor Wheel, suggesting the growing maturity of the organic tea industry and mature tea-making technologies in Taiwan.
By 2023, there are four events of National Organic Tea Classification and Grading. The evaluation categories include fragrant tea, partially fermented tea, black tea, and tea bags.
Discover how the landscape of the Taiwan makes it an ideal place to grow high-quality organic tea. © Taiwan Organic Tea & Food.
Organic at the Market: Providing Wider Market Outlets for Organic Produce
In order to expand organic agriculture, a variety of measures are introduced at multiple levels to widen market outlets for organic agricultural produce. These measures can be divided into the following areas:
Promoting the use of organic ingredients at restaurants and schools
The Organic Center of National Ilan University and the Agriculture and Food Agency jointly launched the Organic Restaurant Project to promote the use of organic. The Project aims to expand marketing channels for organic agricultural products, encouraging restaurants to support organic farmers and provide consumers with safe and healthy organic foods. All members are restaurants that use domestically produced organic ingredients. By January 2024, 99 restaurants in 15 counties and cities across Taiwan have signed up for the project.
At the school level, the government assists school lunch providers in establishing organic food supply systems. This initiative promotes healthy organic vegetable consumption from schools to households. By 2023, 3,017 schools in 21 counties or cities have been regularly using organic ingredients every week, primarily organic vegetables and rice.
Expanding diverse marketing channels for organic agricultural products
To assist farmers in expanding marketing channels for organic agricultural products, 243 organic product counters are set up in retail channels and large hypermarkets. There are also 16 organic farmers’ markets, 112 on-line stores of organic products, and the Taiwan Organic Information Portal, an online farmers’ marketing platform, where more than 230 organic products from across Taiwan are available, for easy search and purchase via a mobile App. The Taiwan Organic Information Portal also participates in major food exhibitions, thereby expanding diverse marketing channels for organic agricultural products.
Organic Knowledge: Enhancing Research and Education in Food and Agriculture
Another key component of the organic movement in Taiwan is knowledge development and transfer at multiple levels. Efforts have been made to set up research centers, form education guidelines for schoolchildren and gather institutional power to advocate for wider organic practices on the island.
Organic Agricultural Research Centre in Hualien
Covering about 10.3 hectares, The Organic Agriculture Research Centre in Hualien County aims to develop and demonstrate organic cultivation techniques in Taiwan. Officially inaugurated in November 2023, it is the world’s fifth and Asia’s first organic agriculture research institution.
The centre is dedicated to research and development in organic living, health and safety and indigenous agriculture. Current research projects include post-harvest processing techniques, comprehensive utilization of fruit crops, screening new varieties for organic cultivation and climate adaptation, developing equipment for alternative host propagation of natural enemies, and new natural enemy release devices.
The Centre is organizing a Bio-Tour before the Organic World Congress 2024.
Promoting Organic Food and Agricultural Education
The
Food and Agriculture Education Act has been passed in May 2022 to promote food and agricultural education (FAE) as well as to strengthen linkages between diet, environment, and agriculture. Most municipalities have set up a unit dedicated to fostering FAE.
This includes developing a range of educational materials (articles, videos, podcasts, colouring books, e-books, publications, posters/ postcards, boardgames and FAE for dummies) and making them available online (Explore the
repository of FAE materials in Taiwan, Chinese only). FAE has also been incorporated into the school curriculums across all counties of Taiwan.
Outside of the school setting, organic food and agricultural education is also promoted at community dining centers, senior centers, retail stores, institutions, and enterprises. In 2023, over 238 sessions on organic food and agricultural education were held in schools and institutions to advocate for organic living, with more than 8,702 participants.
Organic in Taiwan: From local to global
This year, the celebration of the organics goes beyond the local Organic Day on November 11. In about two weeks after the annual occasion, the island will kick off the side events of the Organic World Congress (OWC) 2024. As the host of the triannual emblematic event of the global organic movement, Taiwan seeks to invigorate its organic movement with ideas and inspirations from the international organic communities. Taking ‘Cultivating Organic Solutions for True Sustainability’ as the theme, the upcoming OWC features a main program with four conference tracks, and a rich series of side events, consisting Pre-conferences, Bio-Tours, Workshops and Organic Fair. Join us at the OWC in Taiwan to bring the organic movement forward with innovative solutions. Early bird registration is open now!
Register now
A special thanks to Te-Chun Chen, who kindly contributed information to and reviewed this article. He is the currently working at IFOAM – Organics International as an assistant. Te-Chun is a master’s student in the double degree program “Organic Agriculture and Food Systems”, hosted by the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany and BOKU University in Vienna, Austria. His expertise lies in the field of Bio-Districts and their multi-actor governance in territorial development for inclusive and sustainable local food systems.
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