April 24, 2008

Taiwan to boost corn planting through cultivation of idle farmlands

Taiwan's government will boost its corn stock by activating idle farmlands and handing out a total subsidy of TWD15,000 (US$1485) per hectare.

The move to boost Taiwan's grain supply will be undertaken by the Agriculture and Food Agency (AFA), which is under the Council of Agriculture (COA).

The existing subsidy of TWD15,000 per hectare for biofuel crops per harvest season will be scrapped, to encourage wheat planting on a trial basis.

Chen Wu-hsuing, minister-designate of the COA, recently called on the reduction of idle farmlands and the scrapping of programmes which encourage biofuel production.

AFA targets to expand the space of corn acreage to 30,000 hectares next year, against 12,000 hectares this year.