Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji says that 67% of the Council of Agriculture’s (COA) budget is used on subsidies and welfare expenditures. Chen was speaking on Monday at the Presidential Office. He said the expenditures are the reason why there is not enough money to reform the nation’s agricultural sector.
“The money we spend on developing the agricultural sector only accounts for 11% of the total budget," said Chen. "Ten billion Taiwan dollars (US$331 million) is not enough to take care of more than 4,000 farming communities. The money we have for agricultural reform is really not enough.”
Meanwhile, on the controversial issue of trade liberalization, Chen spoke about tariffs and safeguard mechanisms that would have to be lifted in order to open Taiwan’s markets. Right now, Taiwan has tariff quotas on rice, bananas, mushrooms and 13 other agricultural products. Also, a special safeguard mechanism has been implemented on peanuts, chicken, liquid milk, and 11 other items. Therefore, Taiwan’s agriculture sector will face fierce competition once the market is opened up.
Chen said the government needs to reevaluate the current agricultural policies and liberalize regulations to enable farmers to add more value to their products and become more competitive.