2005-11-03 / Taiwan News, Contributing Writer / by Yang Jie
A country’s soil is one of its most important resources. The soil provides nourishment, is the stable bedrock for dwelling places and in some countries, is the substance that produces either a good or bad vintage. For Taiwan, the soil is the origin of its industrial power. Formerly an agricultural economy, Taiwan’s farmers learned how to maximize the use of their land to yield high productivity.
farmlands
“Taiwan can be said to be an agricultural country,” says Dr. Lee Ching-Lung, the Minister of the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, “so farmland water conservancy is very important.”
The COA promotes the planning, design, construction and maintenance of ecologically sound farmlands, thus helping decrease the harm to nature and keep never-ending development as their ultimate goal.
Dr. Lee says that as the foundation of Taiwan’s industry, agriculture plays three important roles: a producer of fruits and vegetables, livelihood for farm workers and a provider of ecological balance.
“Moreover, links between irrigation channels and drainage systems are spread over many farmlands,” he says. “This fact makes water conservancy even more important since many factors have to be considered to achieve ecological balance.”
In 2002, the COA started to promote a three-year program called “Model for the Study and Experimentation of Ecological Protection, Irrigation and Drainage Systems.” The Program defines various ways to ensure the successful construction of water conservancy systems.
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