Page 62 - 2019 Annual Report Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan

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Pleasurable Banquet: Distilling beautiful fragrances Unit Four: Upgrading the Competitiveness of Rural Industries
introduced into a total of 189 pig farms. Also, we completed on-site consultation and guidance on new concepts in operational management and industrial integration at pig farms on 427 occasions, raising the livability rate at farms that received guidance by 10%. In 2019 the COA provided guidance to a total of 65 pig farms, with the pig livability rate reaching 80%. We also invited operators of pig farms with outstanding livability rates, including Mr. Huang Jingyuan of the Nanzhuang Livestock Farm and Mr. Shi Wenchang, director of the Gengyun Livestock Farm, to share their pig-raising experiences and their pig farm management ideas.
B. The transformation and modernization of the pig-raising industry
To advance the transformation and modernization of the pig-raising industry, the Agricultural Technology Research Institute (TARI), working with the Livestock Research Institute and domestic experts and scholars, formed consultation teams of experts in pig- raising. The COA (i) introduced pig-raising production technology meeting international standards; (ii) organized four-stage modularized training classes for raising pigs; (iii) constructed a pig-raising medical database and effectively provided this for the use of industry; and (iv) continued to guide pig-raising businesses to do biosafe production based on different batches, ages and places. We also resolved the problems of environmental protection, disease, and poor operational efficiency at small- and medium-sized pig farms, and introduced the operational concept of special pig-raising zones while making plans for selecting land for such zones. The COA moreover assisted the Taiwan Sugar Corporation to continue to improve their pig-breeding farms, to serve as demonstration points for small-scale "designated circular agriculture pig production parks." In addition, we asked TARI to organize a "circular agriculture pig-raising special zone planning committee," which completed planning for modular pig buildings for pig-raising special
zones and also produced a handbook of standard operating procedures for pig buildings with independent biosafety systems. The COA also continued to oversee local governments in working to increase farmers’ willingness to operate in special zones, providing needed assistance through groups of experts.
(3) Promoting the reuse of biogas at pig farms
Following the rise of the issue of reducing greenhouse gases worldwide, recently the development of renewable energy and the circular economy have gotten increasing attention, and excrement and urine wastewater at pig farms has come to be seen as a resource. Relevant environmental laws and regulations in Taiwan have been adapted and adjusted, permitting not only a return of pig waste to farmland as a fertilizer ingredient, but also the substantial reuse of the biogas produced in the treatment of excrement and urine wastewater. For example, it can be burned to produce thermal energy for self-use or to produce electrical power for self-use or sale. Not only will this increase diversification of energy sources, it will reduce methane emissions, reduce greenhouse gases, and increase the income of pig farmers, thereby achieving several goals at once.
The COA has continued to guide biogas power generation since 2106, and in 2018 combined this with guidance in other reuses of biogas such as keeping piglets warm. By the end of 2019, there were about 2.008 million head of pigs involved in biogas reuse, which surpassed the policy target of 2 million. Besides continuing to combine our efforts with the guidance capabilities of industry groups, the COA also continued to use "biogas reuse promotion teams" to make on-the-spot visits and verify the conditions of the pig farm and the willingness of the pig farmer and make customized plans for each farm, and based on actual needs, to do matchmaking with energy suppliers. In addition, we provided