On November 19th, NPUST and the Association of Taiwan Organic Agriculture Promotion (ATOAP) jointly held a National Organic Day celebration activity in conjunction with the 2021 “Organic Production and Marketing Technology Research Conference”. Hopes are that through the event, Taiwan’s organic enthusiasts can join forces to further publicize the importance of organic agriculture.
Dr. Wen-Hua Chen, who serves as both Assoc. Professor at NPUST’s Department of Plant Medicine and chairman of ATOAP, remarked that “organic agriculture guards the safety of food and is friendly to the environment – it pays attention to production, livelihood and the ecosystem. Through these activities celebrating Organic Day, we will bring focus to the importance of organic agriculture.”
In Taiwan, November 11th (11/11) has been designated as Organic Agriculture Day. The elevens each represent the Chinese character for “soil” and are meant to indicate “care for the ground” and “protection of the environment”. They are also used to signify the fact that soil is the foundation of the ecosystem and of agriculture. However, since the 11th does not always fall on a holiday, the second Saturday of each November is when the related celebratory activities take place each year. The location of the main celebration alternates from northern to central to southern Taiwan.
This year, the Agriculture and Food Agency (Council of Agriculture) sponsored the event. The Organic Production and Marketing Technology Research Conference provided researchers and experts an opportunity to share the results of their work—and NPUST took the opportunity to issue its award for “Excellent Achievements in Organic Agriculture”. Hopes are that with Taiwan’s organic visionaries gathered in one place working elbow to elbow, Taiwan’s organic industry will experience an overall boost and the public will be able to enjoy more safe, high-quality organic products.
On the same day, 15 organic agriculture farmer’s markets around Taiwan were celebrating the annual activity by holding promotional sales of organic products and working to spread related information. At NPUST, both at the conference location and on the square in front of the College of Agriculture, a poster exhibition, organic product taste testing, and a DIY organic food activity took place—all with the aim of helping more people to get an understanding of the value of organic agricultural products. Hopes are that the industry will receive increased support so that Taiwan’s organic products can develop further and the public will be able reap the benefits.
