The Current Situation and Prospect of Organic Agriculture Development

Current status of domestic organic agriculture related measures

Looking at the development of organic agriculture and related legislative process in Taiwan, from the Agricultural Production and Certification Act promulgated in 2007 to the Organic Agriculture Promotion Act passed in 2018, Taiwan has completed the phase of Organic 2.0 proposed by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), and is now actively promoting the transition from Organic 2.0 to Organic 3.0 as the corresponding response.

Article 1 of the Organic Agriculture Promotion Act points out that the purpose of developing organic agriculture is to “maintaining water and soil resources, ecological environment, biodiversity, animal welfare and consumer interests, and promoting agricultural operation that is eco-friendly and sustainable use of resources, where organic agriculture is defined as “Any farming practice including cultivation, forestry, aquaculture, and animal husbandry without using chemical fertilizer, chemical pesticide, genetically modified organism, and related products, based on the principle of ecological balance and nutrient recycling”. It is hoped that through the formal implementation of the Promotion Act, Taiwan will progress from the stage of strengthening management by legislation and formulating standards and norms for organic agricultural products to reach the new milestone of promoting the whole industry, realizing sustainable utilization of environment and resources, integrating eco-friendly farming practices and sustainable development of agriculture.

The current situation and prospect of organic culture in Taiwan are briefly described as follows.

Organic and Eco-friendly Farming Areas

Organic and eco-friendly farming area in June 2021, Taiwan

Proportion of planting area of organic crops in June 2021

Organic and Eco-friendly Farming Area in Taiwan, 2008-2020

Since 2017, the Council of Agriculture has suggested a new agricultural innovation promotion plan, with “promoting organic and environmentally friendly farming” as the key policy project. By the end of June 2021, there were 16 accredited certification bodies, including 15 certification bodies of organic agricultural products and 1 certification body for livestock products in Taiwan. The area of certified organic farmland was 11,468 hectares and a total of 41 eco-friendly farming promotion groups have been recognized, which registered an eco-friendly farming area of 5,041 hectares, yielding a total area of 16,509 hectares, accounting for 2.09% of available cultivated land in Taiwan. Compared with the area of organic and eco-friendly farming of 11,569 hectares at the end of 2018, it has increased by 42.7% (see Figure 1). The number of units that passed organic certification was 4,273, with an average area of organic certification of 2.68 hectares per unit.

Organic and Eco-friendly Farming Areas

Since 2017, the Council of Agriculture (now the Ministry of Agriculture) has implemented a new agricultural innovation plan, “promoting organic and environmentally friendly farming” as a strategic policy initiative. By the end of 2023, there were 18 accredited certification bodies in Taiwan, including 17 certification bodies for organic agricultural products, including aquaculture, and 1 for livestock products. The area of certified organic farmland reached 17,365 hectares, and 45 eco-friendly farming promotion groups were recognized, contributing an additional 6,749 hectares of eco-friendly farmland. It brought the total to 24,114 hectares, accounting for 3.06% of the available cultivated land in Taiwan.
Compared with the 11,569 hectares of organic and eco-friendly farmland at the end of 2018, this represents a 108.4% increase (see Figure 1). There were 5,131 organic farming units, each with an average certified area of 3.38 hectares.

Farmers' Production Support System
Corporate Organic Cultivation Zones & Organic Agriculture Promotion Zones
Organic Ingredients in School Meals
Diversified Channels for Organic Products and Agri-food Education
Import and Export of Organic Products

The government provides subsidies and environmental payments to support agricultural transformation, ensuring food security and sustainability. Introduced in 2017, the organic and eco-friendly farming subsidies include NT$30,000 per hectare annually as ecological conservation incentives, along with additional subsidies available during the organic conversion period.
Furthermore, through various subsidy measures—covering certification and inspection fees for organic (in-conversion) agricultural products, as well as production equipment such as greenhouses, farm machinery, processing equipment, and fertilizers for organic farming—the government aims to accelerate the promotion of organic agriculture.

The government consults and helps to establish corporate organic cultivation zones and organic agriculture promotion zones. Currently, 27 public corporate organic cultivation zones have been established, covering an area of 1,458 hectares. The government also assists in establishing three Organic Agriculture Promotion Zone, totaling 222 hectares.

The government assists school meal suppliers and group catering operators in establishing organic food processing facilities as part of an organic food supply system, encouraging schools to promote a healthy diet featuring organic ingredients at home. Currently, 21 cities and 3,017 schools consume organic ingredients totaling 255 metric tons per week , primarily organic vegetables.
In Taipei City, New Taipei City, and Taoyuan City (which serve organic meals three times a week), as well as Hsinchu County, Pingtung County, Yilan County, Hualien County, and Taitung County, all elementary and junior high schools serve at least one meal per week that includes organic vegetables or organic rice.

The government assists producers in expanding the marketing channels of organic agricultural products by actively guiding them in retail channels. It includes collaborating with retailers and large-scale hypermarkets to set up 243 organic product counters, establishing 16 organic farmers' markets, creating 112 individual organic farm e-commerce stores, and launching an online farmers' market sales platform. Additionally, the government participates in major food exhibitions to create organic-themed areas for promotion, further diversifying the marketing channels for organic products.
Furthermore, the government continues to promote organic agri-food education in Taiwan, reaching all levels of education, including kindergartens, schools, community restaurants, elderly centers, retail stores, government organizations, and enterprises, to foster a positive attitude and values toward organic living.

With the Organic Agriculture Promotion Act officially implemented on May 30, 2019, only countries that have signed an organic equivalence agreement with Taiwan can export organic products to Taiwan without an additional certification process. Also, our domestic organic agricultural products can be directly exported to those countries for sale as organic.
By the end of 2023, Taiwan has signed bilateral organic equivalence agreements with Japan, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, and Paraguay, gradually opening the path for Taiwan’s organic agricultural products in the export market and driving growth in the organic industry.

The Prospect of Organic Agriculture Development in Taiwan

On the premise of promoting the stable growth of organic agriculture in Taiwan, the center draws up four visionary goals for the development of organic agriculture in Taiwan with reference to the four principles of “health, ecology, fairness and care” of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM):

Health—Improvement of production, living and ecological environment

Article 6 of the Organic Agriculture Promotion Act clearly stipulates that the establishment of organic agriculture promotion zones will be encouraged for the promotion of organic agriculture in the future. By assisting the establishment of organic agriculture promotion zones in various places to combine resources from public and private sectors, the center will help to improve agricultural production, public life and ecological environment, and simultaneously improve the health of environment, animals and plants and human beings.

Fairness—Social innovation and strengthening of partnership

The center will actively encourage communication, coordination and equal partnership among all stakeholders in the organic industrial chain, such as operators of organic agricultural products, government agencies and research institutions, and provide appropriate suggestions or determinant judgments.

Ecology— Implementation of green economy and sustainable management

Article 1 of the Organic Agriculture Promotion Act points out the importance of maintaining ecological environment, natural resources and biodiversity. By promoting the research and development of technology and science, the organic industrial chain should be strengthened on the premise of maintaining natural ecology.

Care—Rigorous management and popularization of organic education

From producers to consumers, organic agriculture professionals can be cultivated by promoting organic education for the entire population and professional training for workers related to the organic industry chain. And, the center should advocate a cautious and responsible attitude to jointly promote the development of organic agriculture.

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Organic Agriculture Promotion Center ｜ +886-4-22840145 ｜ 145 Xingda Rd.,South Dist.,Taichung City 40227, Taiwan(R.O.C) ｜ info@oapc.org.tw