節錄自Taiwan Post (2005.6.1) Page 7

 

楊平世 Yang Ping-Shih

職務: 台灣大學生物資源暨農學院前院長

Position: Former dean of the College of Bioresources and Agriculture, National

Taiwan University.

 

農業重要嗎?

Is Agriculture important?

 

楊平世: 一般人對農業忽視可能是在於『作農的辛苦又不賺錢』的觀光念, 還有

農業的初級產值- 所謂農業GDP, 在1970年之後逐年降低之故. 以1971年為例,

農業佔GDP總值的13.07%, 但之後逐年下降到2001年只有1.91%, 總產值也只有

2,527億, 所以很多人, 尤其是不瞭解農業的人便認為農業不重要.

 

Yang Ping-Shih: The reason why ordinary people neglect agriculture probably

lies in the nation that “farming is hard and doesn’t make money.” Another

reason might be that the initial output value of agriculture, the so-called

agricultural GDP, has been in continuous decline since 1970. Taking 1971 as

an example, agriculture accounted fro 13.07 percent of GDP, but from then on

continued to decline to just 1.91 percent in 2001. Total output value also stood

at just NT$352.7 billion, so that a lot of people, in particular those who do not

understand agriculture, think that it is not important.

 

其實, 如果以農業初級產值之GDP來看農業是不公平的, 因為林木來說, 從

1990件起台灣幾乎不砍伐木材, 所以十多件來林業的初級產值幾乎是零. 但事

實上, 林木提供國土保安,、水土保持、水源涵義; 林木的棲地能提供野生動物棲

息及國人休閒最佳場所, 這種非經濟產值, 也就是所謂的Green GDP(綠色帳),

這種產值比林木的初級產值還要高, 可惜我們的農政單位長年來忽視這方面的

研究, 未能提出農業各種林木、作物之Green GDP, 使得不瞭解農業的人認為農

業是低產值的產業.

 

Actually it is not fair to look at agriculture from its initial output, because the

initial output of forestry has been virtually zero fro more than a decade, as

Taiwan has done almost no logging since 1990. But in fact, forests preserve

national land, provide water and soil conservation, and purify water sources.

Forested areas can provide habitats for wildlife and the some of the best

recreation sites for the public. Such non-economic output, also called “green

GDP”, is more important than the initial output of forests. Unfortunately, our

agricultural government agencies have neglected research in that field for a

long time and are unable to come up with Green GDP’s for various agricultural

fields such as forests, crops etc., which is why people, who don’t understand

agriculture, believe that agriculture is the industry with the lowest output.

 

其實現在的農業跟我們的日常生活十分密切, 像開門七件事 – 柴、米、油、鹽、

醬、醋、茶, 無不和農作物、農業息息相關; 週休二日及學生的校外教學之育、

樂又和社區林業及休閒農、漁業關係也相當密切. 所以如果做決策或參與決策的

人不瞭解農業, 而老是用以初級產值來看農業, 當然會忽視農業. 尤其是一些所

謂財經人士認為農業用那麼多土地, 耗費那麼多用水, 但得到的產值卻那麼低,

常認為農業是『包袱產業』、『黃昏產業』.

 

In fact, modern agriculture is quite closely linked to our everyday lives. If we

open the door (of our kitchen cabinets), we will find at least seven things that

are all closely related to farm crops and agriculture – firewood, rice, cooking

oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. Education and fun on work-free

weekends that involve students’ outdoor learning, community forestry and

leisure farming and fishing are all quite closely related to agriculture.

Therefore, if policymakers or people participating in policymaking do not

understand agriculture and always use initial output to look at agriculture, they

will, of course, neglect it. Moreover, some so-called finance and economic

figures indicate that agriculture is using up much land, and wasting much

water, while its output is very low. Agriculture therefore often projected as a

“liability” or as a “sunset industry”.

 

至於過去最為人詬病的農業金融問題, 在農業金融法通過之後, 在2004年2月

政府成立了農業金融局, 而在2005年1月也已成立全國農業金庫, 這無一不是

因應『農民大遊行』後政府對農漁會及農民朋友們最好的回應. 至於農業生產方

面, 農民所關心的是該怎麼轉型, 該種什麼作物才能賺錢? 還有台灣農村應如

何發展才能重新振興?是故, 在農業未來發展方面, 應從下列問題著手:

 

As for the problem of agricultural finance, which in the past has been most

heavily criticized, the government in February 2004 established the Bureau of

Agricultural Finance following the passage of the Agricultural Finance Law. In

January 2005 it also established the Agricultural Bank of Taiwan. In the wake

of “great farmers demonstration” this was the best response that the

government could make toward the farming and fishing cooperatives and

farmers. As for agricultural production, farmers care most about how to

transform their businesses, and which crops they should plant to make money.

There is also the question of how Taiwan’s rural villages should develop to

achieve revival and revitalization. Therefore, we should start with the problems

mentioned below when it comes to the future development of agriculture:

 

第一、應繼續發展安全、衛生兼顧的精緻農業, 獎勵大面積栽植具競爭能力的

            農作物, 以品牌拓展外銷.

第二、應加強休閒農漁業及社區林業, 塑造具有地方特色的農村新風貌, 並朝

            向精緻化發展; 同時藉休閒農業區、休閒農場在國內行銷優質具品牌的

            農產品.

第三、應投資更多研發經費及獎勵措施, 全力發展農業生物科技; 政府應比照

            輔導電子資訊業方式, 獎勵企業投資農業生物科技產業.

 

First, we should continue to develop an intensive agriculture that cares about

both safety and health, encourage large acreage cultivation of fully competitive

crops, and expand exports through brand products.

 

Second, we should strengthen leisure farming and fishing as well as

community forestry to give rural villages a new face with strong local

characteristics, while also developing toward intensification. At the same time,

we should use agricultural leisure parks and leisure farms to market

domestically excellent branded agricultural products.

 

Third, we should commit more funds to research and development as well as

incentive measures to make an all-out effort in the development of agricultural

biotechnology. In line with measures for the promotion of the electronics and

information technology industry, the government should encourage companies

to invest in the agricultural biotech industry. ■