Page 128 - 2018 Annual Report Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan

Collective Experiences The Overall Landscape Unit 5: Major Events in 2018 purchases, at reasonable prices, of fruits and vegetables that meet processing requirements. Processors responded by purchasing 7,818 metric tons, thereby stabilizing market prices. (3) Halting of vaccinations for foot-and-mouth disease in that Kinmen was a zone that is “FMD-free where vaccination is practiced” by the OIE In 1997 there was an epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Taiwan, and the government spent a huge amount A press conference held in the Taipei Main Station to announce the establishment of the “Eastern Pomelo Strategic Alliance.” The “Fruit Handmade Drink Competition” encourages consumption of domestically produced fruit. of money on disease prevention, while industries related to animal husbandry suffered enormous losses. This was a blow to the nation’s economy, and it was for this reason that eradicating FMD became a common goal for both government and industry. There is a staged process for eradicating FMD, which first requires certification by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) that a given zone is “FMD-free where vaccination is practiced.” Under OIE regulations, in order to apply to be declared a zone that is “FMD-free where vaccination is practiced,” there must be no cases of FMD for the previous two years and no evidence of the transmission of the FMD virus over the previous 12 months. Since the discovery of a single case of Type A FMD in Kinmen County in June of 2015, following the rapid implementation of disease- prevention measures, there were no additional cases for the following two-plus years. In order to accelerate the processing of Kinmen County’s application to be declared “FMD-free,” the COA’s Bureau A meeting to pledge a halt to vaccination for foot-and-mouth disease. 126