Page 24 - 2018 Annual Report Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan

Collective Innovation Sustainable Management Unit 2: Building Agricultural Models Introduction of labor-saving machinery: A self-propelled heading vegetable harvester at work. Introduction of labor-saving machinery: A pineapple seedling planting machine at work. Introduction of labor-saving machinery: A plowing-free seed sower at work. tended to be uniform. In addition, the COA guided 23 farmers’ organizations (including the Taichung Farmers’ Association; the Ming Ching Agricultural Production, Transport, and Marketing Cooperative; and others) to safely warehouse 29,729 metric tons of chemical fertilizer for distribution, in order to stabilize fertilizer supply during seasonal highs and lows in demand and meet farmers’ need for fertilizer. E. Subsidies for small farm machinery To coordinate with agricultural development and meet the needs of agriculture, the COA guides farmers to purchase 14 types of small-scale agricultural machinery including power cultivators and small agricultural transporters. The goal is to promote mechanization of production and increase production efficiency. In 2018 the COA subsidized the purchase of 6,377 agricultural machines by farmers, with wet- paddy rice-seedling operators purchasing 38 labor-saving machines and the introduction of seven new-type labor-saving agricultural machines, to promote labor- saving cultivation. F. Natural disaster relief for agriculture In 2018 Taiwan was affected by adverse weather conditions and natural disasters that caused losses to agriculture, including: low temperatures in January, the February 2 Hualien earthquake, low temperatures in February, low temperatures Subsidies for small farm machinery: A power cultivator. 22