Agriculture has played an important role in Taiwan’s economic development. With the abundance of agricultural products Taiwan produces, its agricultural technology is world-renowned. Since the first group of agricultural specialists was dispatched to Vietnam in 1959, projects in agriculture have been an important foreign assistance aspect of the TaiwanICDF.

In recent years, as the issue of global warming has increased in urgency and the SDGs were proposed by the UN in 2015, the TaiwanICDF has continued to improve the agricultural production and marketing capabilities and food security of partner countries, as well as helped to reduce hunger through agricultural projects. We have provided technology, renewal of facilities and customized training courses with regard to the farming, forestry, fishing and animal husbandry industries, with the aim of improving farmers’ production efficiency and optimizing cost structure to achieve the goals of reducing poverty and improving health and well-being.

In Haiti, in response to the government’s Change Caravan initiative, the TaiwanICDF initiated the National Rice Seed Production Enhancement Project based on Taiwan’s experience and technology in rice production. The project aims to assist Haiti strengthen its seed inspection certification system, improve institutional capacity, and enhance rice production and post-harvest processes, with the aim of increasing production capacity and resolving the long-term shortage of quality rice varieties.

In Eswatini, we drew on Taiwan’s experience in pig breeding, pig housing facilities and pork production and marketing to jointly implement the Pig Industry Enhancement Project with the Eswatini government. By expanding the Mpisi National Pig Breeding Station and increasing the quantity of breeding pigs, the project will help domestic production to meet demand and assist in the development of the pork industry.

In Indonesia, we partnered with the Lembang National Agricultural Training Center (LNATC) to implement the Strengthening Incubator Agribusiness with Human Resources Development in Bandung project, focusing on training to strengthen the counseling capacity of the Center. The project will also help with gradually improving the quality of existing courses and training teachers to assist farmers improve agricultural business operations, and assist the center to establish greenhouses and shipping point, arrange farmer internships, and supplement with long-term monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to strengthen the Center's tracking of farmers and increase the effectiveness of counseling.

In addition, for better agricultural development at the macro level, the TaiwanICDF has cofinanced with the development society to implement infrastructure project and provide subsequent technical and financial support. The financial support will be channeled through qualified financial institutions in partner countries to provide financial services that promote inclusive growth to support farming activities or agricultural enterprises, to engage in sustainable development work in a substantive way.

In Eswatini, the TaiwanICDF first cooperated with six international organizations to finance the Lower Usuthu Smallholder Irrigation Project (LUSIP), developing irrigated lands and assisting small farmers transform into commercial producers to increase household income and achieve the aim of poverty reduction. After the arid land was irrigated, the Taiwan Technical Mission contacted the Ministry of Agriculture and conducted technical assistance to help local smallholder farmers transition to smallscale commercial farmers. In addition, the TaiwanICDF provided a loan to an experienced financial institution, Development Finance Corporation (FINCORP), to relend in the local currency to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including on-farm and non-farm business such as agriculture, forestry and irrigation, to infuse the development of agriculture with sustainability.

The TaiwanICDF also provided funding to private agribusinesses along the food value chain. Agribusinesses will be able to benefit from the enhanced access to financing, maximizing their abilities to extend and grow, via the improvement in productivity and innovation. The investment will exert a positive and sustainable impact along the food value chain, providing a backward linkage to drive the development of primary agriculture at one end and consumer retailing at the other. For example, an Innovation and Sustainability in Agribusiness Value Chains project is currently being carried out with multilateral development partner. 

In humanitarian assistance, food security is one of the focuses of our post-disaster recovery and reconstruction projects. For instance, the TaiwanICDF is cooperating with World Vision on the Sigi-Biromaru Livelihood Support Program in response to the severe earthquake in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The project constructs shallow water wells to support agricultural water sources as most irrigation systems are not functioning after the earthquake. The project also hires locals through Cash-for-Work (CfW) program to remove earthquake debris from land and to conduct plantation preparation. Agricultural inputs and technical assistance are also provided to improve farmers' access to livelihood recovery. In addition, technology application is also the highlight of this project. Last Mile Mobile Solution (LMMS), developed by World Vision, is a beneficiary-registration system which effectively delivers humanitarian aid at the ‘last mile’ between the organization and end-beneficiaries, such as distributing wages to households participating in CfW.

• Update:2023-09-06
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