Quote from: Organic, Sustainable... Profitable

Knowledge Input for the Countryside

The top interest of Chientai Chen, an expert on information networks at the Creativity Lab of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), is not nanotechnology or cloud computing, but the future of Taiwan's farm towns. Chen, who grew up in Dadu, Taichung County, proposed a program at ITRI last year that aims to entice professionals nearing retirement to go to the countryside to help establish a sustainable food supply system.

Chen's in-depth studies have underscored the precision production and complex marketing required in agriculture. He believes that in order for Taiwan's entire agricultural industry to shift to organic farming, knowledge must lead the way.

"The more I do this, the more I realize – farm towns are harder to run than TSMC," Chen jokes (referencing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, one of the island's biggest high-tech companies).

His plan targets people with a consciousness of ecology and sustainable development who are set to retire in one to seven years, encouraging them to move to the countryside upon retirement. He wants to create an information platform for farm towns that allows these veteran recruits to infuse rural communities with expertise, funding and social networks.

Chen himself has teamed up with several ITRI colleagues. Together they rented a 970-square-meter plot of land in Sanchongpu, Hsinchu County, for NT$2,000 per year to experiment with a community-based agriculture project. On this experimental farm, personnel are divided into groups of ten, with each group composed of both managers and supporters. Four managers are in charge of planting such crops as okra, cucumbers and green beans. The supporters invest money, weed and water the fields, while the whole group shares the risks. The tech-savvy novice farmers have learned from local farmers about paddy cultivation, irrigation and fertilizer use. On their own fields they only use environmentally friendly methods.

"I hope that in the future we can hear a world-class dialogue in the farm fields," says Chen. This is his dream of invigorating Taiwan's rural communities with the help of expert knowledge, and a moving vision for Taiwan's new green agriculture.

Original in Chinese: 天下雜誌 450期 2010/06