(This article moved from Sina Blog, Sina Blog online time: 2014-11-16 22:34:44)
Stop 9: National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan
Leaving Ju Nong, in the afternoon, we came to Ping Ke University. In the Department of Agricultural Enterprise Management, School of Management, the group members exchanged topics with Professor Duan Zhaolin, chairman of the Taiwan Leisure Agriculture Society, on the topic of leisure agriculture. Taiwan's leisure and sightseeing agriculture is exquisite and distinctive, Professor Duan used a large number of cases to introduce the situation of Leisure Agriculture in Taiwan to the group, and what impressed people more was his understanding of how to develop leisure agriculture.
"Do not sell agricultural products as products, but pursue the derivative value of agriculture." Unlike Dr. Zhou's emphasis on "only organic products, not leisure experiences" in the morning, and Chairman Han Guang Liao's emphasis on basing on the high quality of dishes, Professor Duan emphasized the added value derived from agricultural products, rather than the product itself. This is the difference between the positioning of the farm to do organic farming or recreational agriculture. However, he still emphasizes the combination of "leisure" and "agriculture", believing that "if there is only sightseeing and no agriculture, the road will be cut off."
"There is a leisure mode first, and then there is a profit mode.". Some friends asked how to make profits on leisure farms, professor Duan particularly emphasized that the premise of leisure agriculture is leisure services, as long as the characteristics of leisure are made, the service is good, and the profit is logical.
"We must strive to be close to nature and create a contrast with modernization." The reason why people need leisure agriculture is to seek a state of return to nature that is different from modern urban life. In his view, the more modern urban life is, the more people need to return to nature. What attracts tourists to leisure agricultural tourism is not pomp and circumstance, but an experience that is different from urban life, an authentic, off-site experience.
"Aesthetics + ecology + health + education...". The derivative value of leisure agriculture comes from many aspects. Different leisure farms can choose their own positioning according to their own conditions. Professor Duan has a better understanding of the mainland's "farmhouses", and he suggested that the mainland's leisure agriculture must get rid of the same status quo and get out of their own differentiated positioning.
Professor Duan also introduced the role of various subjects in the development of leisure agriculture in Taiwan. The first is the main role of the farmer, Taiwan is the private ownership of land, the characteristic positioning of leisure agriculture is the independent choice of the farmer, "the planner can help you realize your dreams, but the dreams have to be done by yourself"; The role of the government for leisure agriculture is that of a counselor, and the government has a team of experts to help farmers plan and provide services; The main role of the Society is to train, organize creative competitions, and carry out service quality certification.
Stop 10: Shangri-La Leisure Farm
Shangri-La Leisure Farm is located in Yilan County, northern Taiwan, and is built at the foot of Dayuan Mountain. Before entering the park, the farm guide first showed us a strange object and asked us what it was useful: a gourd with a hole dug on the side to hang in the eaves. When everyone was puzzled, the tour guide told us that this was used to teach monkeys. Monkeys in the mountains are mostly infested, and this object can jam the monkey's hand and catch it alive.
The farm is home to a large number of fruits: peaches hang high on the trees, guavas are within reach, lotus mist is out of season, oranges are not so sweet and sour, and rows of dragon fruit are for people to feast on. The most attractive thing is the leisure facilities in the mountains, the green space is located with pavilions, tea cabinets, wooden chairs, benches, swings for young people to play, swinging bridges, etc., the view of the mountain is very wide, the town below the mountain has a clear view, and when the breeze is gentle, people feel relaxed and pleasant.
A row of red-roofed houses towering between the green hills is particularly striking, and it is a place for tourists to eat and sleep. Most of the food eaten by tourists is produced on the spot by farms. Before and after meals, visitors can also play drums and smoke gyros at will, or play DIY under the guidance of the staff, learn to make rattles, small lanterns and other childhood toys, and recall childhood memories.
Stop 11: Toucheng Leisure Farm
Toucheng Leisure Farm is also located in Yilan County, covering an area of 120 hectares, has a 23-year development history, usually has 40-60 employees, last year received 100,000 visitors. Toucheng Farm also has vegetable and fruit gardens, rice field flower beds, and raising livestock and poultry for tourists to experience the production and life of farmers, as well as DIY areas, game competition facilities and pond fishing for tourists to make. Having not caught a fish for many years, I couldn't help but try my luck, and after several small fish and put it back in the pond, I finally caught a big fish as I wished.
In addition to similar content to other farms, the biggest feature of Toucheng Farm is its ecological theme. The tour guide selected for us at the farm was Mr. Lui, who was about 60 years old and about my age. He is very familiar with the plants and animals of the farm, and it is rare to be able to integrate the concept of ecological protection and ecological circulation into his explanation. In his eyes, the fields, streams, feedlots, ponds, vegetation, and animals built along the mountainous terrain constitute a complete ecological circulation system. He stressed that although the farm has good benefits, the most important thing is not the business, but the function of ecological education.
Mr. Lui is a very contagious person. When we walked on the mountain trail, he said that he liked the folk songs of the mainland very much, so he sang "Ao Bao Rendezvous" and "Grassland Night", and he sang with great emotion, and the members of the group could not help but sing together, and the beautiful songs echoed in the valley. Coming to a bush, Mr. Lu sold a guanzi and solemnly recommended "golden dates" to us. Carefully peeling off the cover of the branches and leaves, what appeared in front of us was a jujube-like thing, which was glowing with golden light throughout, and it was beautiful. Mr. Lui told us that it is not any plant fruit, but a butterfly pupa.
It's time for dinner and everyone has an outdoor barbecue. Vegetables, mushrooms, meat, and fish we caught ourselves were placed on the grill one by one, and the friends shared friendship and happiness as the cups were changed.
Stop 12: Aquaponics Experimental Farm
New Taipei's Aquaponics Pilot Farm was founded in 2011 by Ms. Li Jiaxuan, who specializes in commercial cultivation. Her base is not too large, and the greenhouse is equipped with aquaponic system facilities of different sizes, suitable for different occasions at home, such as on the balcony, in the living room, and even on the roof. Using a small motor as a driving force, the water is circulated, the fish are raised in the water tank, and then irrigated with the water of the fish, plus the excrement and sunlight of the fish, so that the crops can grow, thus forming a closed-loop system. Whether it is fish or crops, the varieties are not fixed, and they can change according to people's preferences.
Some of our friends are concerned about how to make a profit, and Ms. Li told us that her project mainly focuses on urban residents. Although the selling point of the project is to help the people in the city to be self-sufficient and reduce the inconvenience from the field to the table, she herself does not make a profit by selling fish and vegetables. Her ongoing operations are actually mainly achieved by paid training, providing know-how and basic facilities. She collaborates with National Taiwan University of Science and Technology to train in aquaponics. The tuition fee of NT$6,000 per person includes a one-day enrichment course, simple equipment such as motors and siphons, plus vegetable fry and small fish. The main value of this project is not in the product, but in the transmission of a new concept of urban life with love for agriculture, emission reduction and labor. Ms. Li also proudly told us that fish and vegetable symbiosis will make people "addicted", and many students have become her repeat customers.
In the evening, he went to the dinner of his old friend Professor Lu Xipeng, dean of the School of Management of the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. As soon as we talked about it, we knew that this fish-vegetable symbiosis system training program was in their college. There was a teacher who specially docked with Ms. Li Jiaxuan and used the space on the roof of the college building to do demonstrations, and many students paid to learn and enjoyed it.
The 8-day expedition was rich in content and fruitful. Taiwan's exploration and experience in science and technology agriculture, ecological agriculture, leisure agriculture, and creative agriculture can give us a lot of useful enlightenment to our agricultural counterparts from the mainland. In addition to learning from their experiences, some of the group members have found a space to cooperate with them and with their friends. I sincerely hope that the concept and experience of modern agriculture gained during this trip can stimulate innovation on this side of the strait, and sincerely hope that the proposed cooperation will become a reality at an early date and bear fruitful results.