RSPRC Publication

Transforming Agriculture Production and Marketing through Environmental-Friendly Cultivation in Taiwan

Yang Wun Cyuan, 200 akker Organizer

Taiwan's agriculture production and marketing is facing a challenge in the face of the World Wide Web technology in the 21st century. The internet revolution has transformed the fundamental economic development to be consumer-driven in the world economy. Since 1960s, Taiwan has undergone industrial revolution in mass production through dependence on agricultural machinery, pesticides and fertilizers in order to meet the needs of population growth at affordable price, following the fundamental supply-and-demand economics basis.

In recent decade, the internet revolution has opened a new window for innovations in agriculture economics. Consumers with similar preferences but living far apart are able to gather through internet to make collective orders. The aggregated consuming power allows consumers to demand producers to provide customized products with high quality. Increasing evidence and incidences of food safety failure associated with mass production has raised concerns among consumers and threatened conventional agriculture economics.

With the rise of consumer awareness, Taiwan is undergoing a transformation in agriculture production and marketing from producer-driven to consumer-driven economic systems. Promoted by the Council of Agriculture, agricultural recreation, quality agriculture and organic agriculture have made a leap in Taiwan. Many traditional farmers have changed their cultivation practices to be more environmental-friendly. In addition, the new agriculture economic system (e.g., self-organizing production and marketing) has also attracted more young generations return to agriculture industry.

In lieu of top-down organized markets controlled by the Council of Agriculture, the third party organization from bottom-up allows an evolution of a free market system. This new system is operating mainly by farmers from small farmer's markets in various urban areas, and farms who apply environmental-friendly practices, as well as people from civic organizations beyond traditional agriculture network. This system is highly open to the public. Anyone or any group who agrees with the idea of environmental-friendly cultivation practices can join this system. This system has attracted many consumers, particularly in urban areas, who have long been concerning Taiwan's agriculture industry. These groups would then lead the consumer-driven production and marketing system.

Currently this self-organizing system is still under development. The environmental-friendly practices and products are being contested by both producers and consumers. As the conventional practices in producer-driven system cannot meet the needs of consumers, innovations in the environmental-friendly cultivation play an important role in the new consumer-driven system. Taiwan's agriculture public and private sectors, therefore, should respect and recognize the self-organizing consumer power and make significant efforts to transform our agriculture economic systems in the face of the global internet era.

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