Over 500 Indonesians, Filipinos participate in Taiwan farming internship

Taipei, May 27 (CNA) Over 500 young farmers from Indonesia and the Philippines have come to Taiwan for training through an internship program, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) said.

The "Foreign Young Farmer Internship Program" aims to support agricultural talent development and promote exchange between Taiwan and the two Southeast Asian countries.

According to the latest figures, 582 young farmers from Indonesia and the Philippines have completed internships in Taiwan's farming, livestock, poultry and aquaculture sectors since the program began in 2022.

Five Indonesian interns are still working at two farms in Taitung County, the MOA's Taitung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station said in a news release Tuesday.

They are engaged in hands-on work such as growing fruits and vegetables, practicing organic farming, managing pests and diseases, and harvesting, the station said.

By learning advanced farming techniques in Taiwan, the young Indonesians will be better prepared to run their own farms when they return home, the station said.

Lin Pei-ying (林沛縈), who runs the "Good Time Fruit" farm, praised the Indonesian interns for their learning abilities, saying they can now handle a variety of tasks on their own and show great potential.

Another farm operator, Chen Hsiao-wei (陳孝偉), said that while language was a challenge, the Indonesian interns have started learning Chinese and can now read task sheets, greatly improving work efficiency.

The internship program gives the Indonesian interns practical skills and a deeper understanding of Taiwan's agricultural practices, the station said.

According to the MOA, most foreign interns gain the ability to perform technical tasks and basic farm management on their own after a year of training in Taiwan.

Through hands-on experience, they improve their skills while helping meet labor needs on Taiwan's farms, the ministry said.