Taiwan: Hualien farmers honored for buckwheat cultivation

2022.02.09

A total of 123 hectares of buckwheat grown by farmers in Yuli, Hualien County has been certified as a traceable organic agricultural product and made the farmers' group one of the best agricultural production-marketing groups nationwide in 2021 selected by the Council of Agriculture.

Hsieh Ming-chien (謝銘鍵), a division head of the agricultural group in Yuli, said that buckwheat, a plant cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop, is not a major staple crop in Taiwan.

Buckwheat can be used to make soba noodles, tea bags, and as dressings or a condiment, Hsieh said, adding that even McDonald's Buckwheat & Sesame McFlurry ice cream was made with buckwheat from Yuli.

Almost all buckwheat in Taiwan was imported before the government introduced a policy in January last year to encourage farmers to switch from growing rice to a variety of other crops.

It was later found that the climate and weather conditions in Hualien and Taitung counties in eastern Taiwan are suitable for buckwheat plants and farmers do not need to spray chemical pesticides while growing the crop.

With the assistance of a local farmers' association, 14 farmers in Yuli formed an agricultural production and marketing group and began planting 70 hectares of buckwheat. The total area used for growing buckwheat by the group is now 123 hectares, and for all of Yuli, a total of 300-400 hectares of land is dedicated to buckwheat cultivation, according to Hsieh.

Read more here.

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