(1) Implementing agricultural insurance

Because of changes to the environment caused by climate change, and the increasing severity of natural disasters, in recent years the COA has been actively promoting agricultural insurance. As of the end of 2018, trial insurance had been developed and sold for 11 items, including Oriental pears, mangoes, paddy rice, sugar apples, aquaculture seafood products, grouper, poultry (for avian influenza), agricultural facilities, papayas, wax apples, and milkfish. Farmers and fishermen have been provided with the option to take out insurance on these products, in order to spread operational risk.

In order to encourage farmers to participate in agricultural insurance, the COA first adopted parallel implementation of two systems: (i) agricultural insurance and (ii) natural disaster relief. Based on the “Operational Directions for Subsidies on Pilot Agricultural Insurance,” the “Regulations for Implementation and Subsidy of Sugar Apple Income Insurance Pilot Scheme,” the “Operational Directions for Subsidies on Pilot Aquaculture Natural Disasters Insurance,” and the “Directions for Subsidies of Trial Poultry Industry Insurance,” subsidies of 1/3 to 1/2 of premiums were provided for insurance products that had been reviewed, approved, and announced by the COA. Some county and city governments also provided partial subsidies for insurance premiums. The COA also provided “loans for agricultural insurance,” in order to assist farmers and fishermen to get the money they needed to pay insurance premiums. These measures raised the willingness of farmers and fishermen to take out insurance.

From 2015 through 2018, a total of 17,112 insurance policies had been taken out, the total insured amount was NT$3.387 billion, the total insured land area was 28,268 hectares, and insurance was taken out on 71,000 poultry birds. The effectiveness of insurance has increased year by year, and in 2019 the COA plans to offer insurance for pineapples, bananas, and wendan pomelos, to expand the scope of insurance protection. The situation with regard to pilot agricultural insurance over the years has been as follows:

To ensure the safety of assets of fishermen operating at sea, the COA arranged subsidies for fishing boat insurance for 7,526 fishing boats (rafts) n 2018, with subsidies totaling NT$50.07 million. In order to spread operational risk and prevent the illegal circulation of dead livestock, the COA offers livestock insurance that includes coverage for dairy ow deaths, hog deaths, and hog deaths during transport. Of these, hog death insurance has been expanded to cover the entire country (including offshore islands). There were 8,434,404 insured livestock animals in 2018, including 32,000 dairy cows and 8,402,404 hogs.

There is a high degree of complexity and difficulty in implementing agricultural insurance. Based on the experiences of various countries that have developed agricultural insurance, the government needs to pass a special law to support its development in Taiwan. Through the process of trial implementation, the COA has gained practical experience, and plans to finalize a special draft law for agricultural insurance as quickly as possible. This will enable farmers and fishermen to clearly understand the main direction of government policy. The COA must ensure the availability of policy resources and tools, and, through the agricultural insurance system, ensure sustainable operations and expand participation. We must also construct an operating model suitable for agricultural insurance as well as a comprehensive agricultural disaster relief and insurance system, in order to minimize operational risk in agriculture and ensure the incomes of farmers and fishermen.

(2) Refining the farmers' insurance system

The District Agricultural Research and Extension Stations of the COA will, in cooperation with relevant agencies, undertake on-the-spot surveys and conduct oral questioning and substantive reviews to determine actual cultivators of land, and, based on the issuance of certifications as farmers, actual cultivators an use these certification documents to apply to the farmers’ association for the location of their official domicile to participate in farmers’ health insurance. In order to promote occupational safety for farmers and build a more complete farmers’ social insurance system, the COA, based on amendments to the “Farmers Health Insurance Act” promulgated on June 13, 2018, began trial implementation of farmers’ occupational injury insurance as of November 1, 2018. People who are actually engaged in farming and are covered by farmers’ health insurance can apply for occupational injury insurance. When some adverse occupational ncident occurs, the insured person can apply for cash payments. As of the end of 2018, a total of 90,628 farmers had taken out farmers’ occupational injury insurance.

The COA also amended the “Regulations about Standards for Determinations of the Farmers Engaged in Agricultural Work and Applies to Join in Farmers’ Health Insurance Programs and Examinations of heir Qualifications” and announced the “Operation Directions for Identification of the Actual Cultivator Engaged in Agricultural Production,” making it possible for actual cultivators who are farming on others’ land s a result of an oral agreement to apply to participate in farmers’ health insurance.

(3) Looking out for the wellbeing of farmers

　A. The welfare allowance for elderly farmers

In order to look after elderly farmers, the government issues a welfare allowance to qualified farmers 65 years of age and older. Since January 1 of 2016, the monthly allowance has been NT$7,256. In 2018 the COA paid out a total amount of NT$52.654 billion, benefiting 634,225 elderly farmers.

The COA also promoted the amendment of the “Provisional Act Governing the Welfare Allowance for Elderly Farmers,” so that if the land and house(s) owned by an elderly farmers have not increased, their right to apply for the welfare allowance is not affected where the declared current value of the land and the assessed standard price of the house(s) have been adjusted upward. We also added three items related to deductions from the value of land: (i) lands that have been set aside as land reserved for public facilities and aren’t yet expropriated or compensated, (ii) lands reserved for indigenous peoples that have not yet been used effectively in economic terms, and (iii) existing roads related to land for public use that have been certified by the competent authorities at the municipal, county, or city level as not being used effectively in economic terms, shall not be calculated as part of the total value of land.

As for reform of the pension system, a consensus was achieved at the 6^th National Agriculture Congress with respect to planning an economic security system for elderly farmers. To wit, the government should integrate (i) farmers’ health insurance, (ii) the welfare allowance for elderly farmers, and (iii) other forms of social insurance and, using the welfare allowance for elderly farmers as the foundation and without affecting the rights and interests of farmers, construct a farmers’ pension system.

　B. Educational subsidies for children of farmers and fishermen

In order to ensure that the children of disadvantaged farmers and fishermen do not, for economic reasons, miss out on the chance to get high-school and college educations in Taiwan, a program was launched in September of 2003 to provide financial support and scholarships to these farmers and fishermen. In 2018 a total of NT$809,258,000 in academic subsidies was paid out, helping 95,480 beneficiaries continue their education.

　C. Fuel subsidies for farmers and fishermen

In 2018, the purchase of 79,000 kiloliters of fuel needed for the operation of 205,878 agricultural machines in Taiwan was exempted from the 5% business tax (with total savings of NT$166.9 million). Also, the COA subsidized the purchase of about 550,000 kiloliters of diesel fuel for 6,834 fishing vessels, with subsidies totaling about NT$1.432 billion. In addition, we provided subsidies of NT$100 million for 6,072 gasoline powered fishing boats.

　D. Stabilizing supply and demand for fertilizers

To accelerate the expansion of ecofriendly farming, the COA provided total subsidies of NT$338 million to encourage farmers to apply 675,100 metric tons of compound fertilizer containing organic materials such as peat, with the goal of replacing traditional chemical fertilizers and reducing the volume of chemical fertilizers used. In addition, we provided NT$25.41 million to subsidize the costs of transporting 51,000 metric tons of fertilizer to Taitung, Hualien, and offshore islands, in order to protect the right of farmers in remote areas to have access to fertilizer and ensure that the end-user fertilizer costs for farmers tended to be uniform. In addition, the COA guided 23 farmers’ organizations (including the Taichung Farmers’ Association; the Ming Ching Agricultural Production, Transport, and Marketing Cooperative; and others) to safely warehouse 29,729 metric tons of chemical fertilizer for distribution, in order to stabilize fertilizer supply during seasonal highs and lows in demand and meet farmers’ need for fertilizer.

　E. Subsidies for small farm machinery

To coordinate with agricultural development and meet the needs of agriculture, the COA guides farmers to purchase 14 types of small-scale agricultural machinery including power cultivators and small agricultural transporters. The goal is to promote mechanization of production and increase production efficiency. In 2018 the COA subsidized the purchase of 6,377 agricultural machines by farmers, with wet-paddy rice-seedling operators purchasing 38 labor-saving machines and the introduction of seven new-type labor-saving agricultural machines, to promote laborsaving cultivation.

　F. Natural disaster relief for agriculture

In 2018 Taiwan was affected by adverse weather conditions and natural disasters that caused losses to agriculture, including: low temperatures in January, the February 2 Hualien earthquake, low temperatures in February, low temperatures in March, strong winds on April 23, hail on April 23, weather fronts in March and April, torrential rains on June 13, drought from April to June, torrential rains on July 2, Typhoon Maria, tropical low-pressure flooding on August 23, and Typhoon Mangkhut. On the basis of the “Agricultural Natural Disasters Relief Regulations” the COA arranged (i) NT$2.056 billion in cash relief for 56,908 households and (ii) low-interest loans totaling NT$639 million for 509 households. These were immediately distributed following a determination that the affected households qualified for this relief, and the relief had a great impact in assisting farmers to resume operations and rebuild.

In addition, based on the use of a specialized weather model to analyze forecasts, combined with professional suggestions made by the COA’s District Agricultural Research and Extension Stations, the COA produced and broadcast daily agricultural weather videos. In the event of a special weather event (such as a typhoon), the COA added special weather videos. The aforementioned videos were not only used as reference for policy decisions by the COA and its subordinate agencies, they were also broadcast on a variety of channels including the COA’s official Facebook page, Youtube, and the electronic bulletin boards at farmers’ and fishermen’s associations. During 2018, these videos were clicked on a total of 4.9 million times, indicating that they were already being widely used by farmers in improving cultivation management and in disaster-prevention decision-making.

Also, the COA’s Agricultural Technology Research Institute developed technology to interpret images of the impact of natural disasters on crops. When a natural disaster occurs, we use drones to take immediate aerial photos and get rapid remote-sensing images as evidence for the initial period after the disaster strikes. The COA also uses crop-lodging semi-automated image interpretation technology as an auxiliary to cartographic information to determine the land area affected by the disaster, in order to (i) assist local authorities in determining the extent of the disaster, (ii) upgrade the efficiency of local surveys of the disaster, and (iii) assist farmers to begin recultivating their land as soon as possible.

　G. Fishermen's and fishing boat insurance

According to the “Regulations of Covering Insurance and Assistance for Fishermen Operating at Sea,” the COA shall pay out relief funds for fishermen who are killed, missing, or disabled. (Fishermen are only eligible if they have seaman’s licenses and work at sea on Taiwan-registered fishing vessels or if they have Class 1 member qualifications in a fishermen’s association and do coastal harvesting of aquatic animals.) In 2018 funds totaling NT$42 million were paid out to 40 fishermen.

In addition, on the basis of the “Directions on Succoring for Fishing Vessels in Maritime Disaster,” the COA paid out relief of NT$825,000 on 14 boats (rafts) that could no longer operate as a result of damage caused by fire or force majeure.

　H. Strengthening the effectiveness of farmers’, fishermen’s, and irrigation organizations

In 2018 the COA undertook two training sessions to share specialized knowledge with public servants doing farmers’ association guidance in local governments, and completed the task of hiring replacement general managers at seven farmers’ associations. We also announced amendments to the “Regulations and Governing Personnel Management at Farmers’ Associations,” the “Regulations Governing the Custody and Application of Legal Reserves, Funds for Public Interests, and Funds for Inter-organizational Extension, Mutual Aid, and Training Services among Farmers’ Associations at All Levels,” and the “Regulations for Governing Evaluation of Farmers’ Association’s Performance,” to strengthen the use of public-interest funds in (i) adjusting imbalances in production and sales of agriproducts and (ii) coordinating with the promotion of major agricultural policies. The COA also assisted farmers’ associations in holding 12 sessions for training in specialized knowledge and professional competence for hired employees, and commissioned accountants to do audits of financial affairs at 35 farmers’ associations. We also subsidized 16 farmers’ associations in expanding their extension and education facilities, and guided 12 others with their economic enterprise plans.

In terms of fishermen’s associations, on March 31 of 2018 the COA announced amendments to Article 3 and appendices to Article 2 of the “Regulations Governing Performance Evaluation of Fishermen’s Association,” to clearly stipulate situations under which a fishermen’s association may not receive a ranking of “outstanding” (90-100 points), or “A” (80-90 points) in its performance review. Also, on the basis of Article 27 of the “Fishermen Association Act,” starting in March we supervised the National Fishermen’s Association in preparing for the 8th unified examinations for new employees or promotions of staff. There were a total of 97 openings at 32 fishermen’s associations, and 94 people were hired or promoted. A total of 1,369 people signed up for the exams. Following written and oral tests, 38 people were hired at fishermen’s association to handle administrative affairs, 21 to handle financial affairs, and 20 to handle business affairs. The total number hired was 79, making thehiring rate 9%.

Under the “Act of Irrigation Association Organization,” the COA monitored and guided irrigation associations in handling irrigation and drainage activities, and promoted irrigation association reform. In addition, to minimize the burden on farmers, irrigation associations have long ceased collecting membership fees, with the government instead appropriating NT$2.23 billion in 2018 to subsidize irrigation associations.

　I. Innovating in agricultural financial services

(a) Diversification of agricultural financial services

In order to strengthen the quality of services and competitiveness of farmers’ and fishermen’s associations, the COA assigned the Agricultural Bank of Taiwan (ABT) to integrate services and channels at the credit departments of farmers’ and fishermen’s associations. In June of 2010 the ABT signed a contract with farmers’ and fishermen’s associations covering items for which their credit departments could accept payments on behalf of others, and created a comprehensive system of financial services. Under this system, in 2018 credit departments were allowed to provide 929 types of payment acceptance services, including insurance premiums for national pensions; payments for water, telecoms, credit cards, gas, and cable TV; and the fuel tax for cars and motorcycles. As of the end of 2018, 1,171 operational centers of 311 credit departments had collected 125.08 million payments, totaling NT$501.5 billion.

In coordination with the government’s “New Southbound Policy,” the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Fund set aside NT$1 billion to provide credit guarantee services to assist Taiwanese investors in New Southbound Policy partner countries to get the capital they need.

(b) The credit departments of farmers’ and fishermen’s associations

In 2018 the COA continued to take measures to improve the operational structure of credit departments. As of the end of 2018, total deposits at all credit departments were NT$1.9 trillion, with total outstanding loans of NT$1.1 trillion. Beforetax net profit was NT$5.4 billion. The nonperforming loan ratio was 0.45%, and of the 311 credit departments in the country, 252 had non-performing loan ratios of less than 1%, of which 57 had non-performing loan ratios of 0%, indicating that loan quality was quite high.

Overall, the operational structure of credit departments has significantly improved. The COA will continue to maintain a firm grasp of the operational situation at credit departments, and will strengthen oversight and guidance work to continue to assist credit departments to ensure sound operations, and to maintain the stable development of agricultural finance.

(c) Policy-oriented special agricultural loans

In 2018, the COA continued to promote policy-oriented special agricultural loans, providing 45,000 farmers and fishermen with NT$28.8 billion in loans, giving them capital needed for their operations. In order to coordinate with government policies such as training young manpower for agriculture and “New Agriculture,” we strengthened our promotion of the “loan for youths establishing agricultural businesses,” the “loan for farmer organizations and agribusiness management and marketing research and innovation,” the “loan for leisure farms,” and the “loan for agricultural energy conservation and carbon-emissions reduction,” providing 1,312 young farmers and business operators with NT$3.28 billion in capital loans. The COA will continue to coordinate with agricultural policy objectives, adjusting the types of loans and their content when appropriate, in order to upgrade the operational competitiveness of rural industries.