Premier pledges to promote organic farming

Taipei, Aug. 27 (CNA) Premier Lin Chuan (林全) said Saturday that the government will step up its efforts to promote organic farming, with the goal of expanding the area of organic farmland around Taiwan to 10,000 hectares by the end of 2017.

Taiwan needs to upgrade and revitalize its agriculture, and the government has worked out a plan that will address issues concerning land and capital acquisition as well as involvement of young people to boost the development of new agriculture, Lin said during a visit to a collective organic farming zone in Pingtung County.

He said he looks forward to seeing the area of organically-certified farmland in Taiwan to increase to 10,000 hectares by the end of next year, up from 6,600 hectares at present.

Also, the government hopes the expansion of organic farmland will help enhance the value of Taiwan's organic farming market, he said.

He praised Pingtung County as having set a good example by encouraging the use of organic farm products in school lunches, pointing out that the practice has since been followed by 10 other counties and cities around Taiwan, which he said has laid a good foundation for the development of organic farming.

(By Tai Ya-chen and Y.F. Low)ENDITEM/ke