President Tsai extends her recognition and praise to winning APMGs for their team spirit
In her address, the President emphasizes that the Top 10 APMGs being awarded today were selected from 6,139 groups nationwide across different agricultural segments. Advancing through the township, county/city, regional, and national selection, they excelled every step of the way to earn a spot on this podium, which was no easy feat. The APMG is an organization formed by uniting small farmers to take advantage of collective management to expand operation scales and cut costs. In the process, it is essential that group members share a common vision and trust one another, which enables them to tackle problems together and discover opportunities for the organization. Today’s award recipients are excellent models for nationwide APMGs.
Incredible accomplishments by Top APMGs inspire others to follow
Many of the winning Top APMGs have their produced coffee, vegetables, avocados, sugar apples, and aquaculture products certified in TAP. By safeguarding the safety of their products, the APMGs are honoring their responsibility to consumers. The same commitment goes to the environment as well; organic rice grown in Yuli Township, Hualien County, coffee beans cultivated naturally in Guoshing Township, Nantou County, rice and sweet potatoes cultivated in eco-friendly methods in Zhudong Township, Hsinchu County, and native coarse grains revived in Alishan Township, Chiayi County all demonstrated producers’ respect and care for the mother nature. In addition, the rise of female and young farmers is another predominant trend in the present agriculture. Many awarded APMGs owe their success to the newly emerged female perspective and vigorous participation of young group members. Many took advantage of the latest smart technologies and yielded impressive results, which is hard not to be impressed.
President acknowledges Minister Chen’s unreserved dedication to looking after farmers
The President takes the chance to pay tributes to COA Minister Dr. Chen Chi-chung for his diligent effort that results in sector-wide success. Minister Chen showed great empathy and stood by the farmers’ side by being attentive to farmers and fishermen’s basic needs. All policies have been made on the premise of lowering costs, increasing competitiveness, and securing income.
At the production end, bringing down fertilizer prices, subsidies for agri-machinery and fishing boat communications are carried out to enable greater productive efficiency. In terms of competitiveness, Green Environmental Payment, TAP certification, alongside the implementation of cold chain logistics, all contribute to the higher end-product quality and help gain grounds on the international market.
The President stresses that clearing quarantine barriers will be the central agendas for future international negotiations or consultations. For instance, starting from this year, Taiwanese jujube can finally be sold to Korea, and the same goes for guavas to the US; these are the living examples of the competent works by the Council of Agriculture (COA) and the Bureau of Foreign Trade, and the country looks forward to accomplishing more of the same in the future.
Aside from those, the COA also expanded the coverage of agricultural insurance, aquaculture insurance, and agricultural occupational disease and injury insurance to ensure farmers’ income. Farmers and their families can be at ease knowing that they have got covered. Farmers who retire from their lifelong endeavor will also be protected. With a comprehensive retirement plan in place, farmers can fully commit to agricultural activities at hand.
Award presentation goes in heartwarming vibe with attendees proud to share this glorious moment
Except for the award presentation, a demonstration booth was arranged on-site to showcase major highlights and note-worthy products from the winning APMGs to visitors. The President, COA Minister, and AFA Director-General approaches each group to have chats with its members and extend their words of encouragement. With the attendance of and congratulation from more than 300 guests, the awarding ceremony ends on a satisfactory note. The President encourages all present group members to keep up the good work and pass on their influences, which is the key to Taiwan’s agricultural transformation and will one day mark new milestones.
