Special Law on Organic Agriculture: what is the treaty on the equality of organic agricultural products and when will it be signed?

After the completion of various sub-laws, the "Organic Agriculture Promotion Law" promulgated at the end of May last year officially hit the road on 30 May this year, and the Council of Agriculture held a press conference on the eve of the formal implementation of the new law, vowing to achieve the goal of national agricultural organization. Chen Jizhong, chairman of the Council of Agriculture, specifically mentioned "organic equivalence certification." in the future, only countries that have signed up with the ROC to complete the identification of organic equivalence can sell organic agricultural products to Taiwan, with a buffer period of one year. At present, the progress of our discussions with New Zealand, Australia, Japan and India is relatively fast, and it is expected to be signed one after another in June and July, and other countries are also highly willing to negotiate with our country.

At present, China has not obtained the determination of organic equivalence in other countries, and domestic organic agricultural products cannot be exported in the name of organic. In order to negotiate the normalization of trade and allow China's organic agricultural products to be exported in the name of organic, it is clearly stipulated in the Law on the Promotion of Organic Agriculture. Countries that have not signed bilateral organic equivalence treaties, agreements or other official documents with China before May 30, 2020, recognize China's organic certification. Will no longer be able to export its organic agricultural products to China in the name of organic.

The Agriculture and Food Administration said that 22 of the countries that have exported organic agricultural products to Taiwan, including the European Union and the United States, are actively approaching the determination of organic equivalence with the ROC, and Japan, India, Paraguay and other countries are also in talks. New Zealand, Australia, Japan and India, which are the fastest growing, are expected to sign in June and July, which means that China's organic agricultural products are expected to be exported to these countries. If the signing of organic equivalence between countries has not been completed, and if you want to sell organic agricultural products to Taiwan, you have to go to that country for verification through an organic certification agency certified by the Council of Agriculture, or foreign organic certification institutions can only be imported after they have been certified by the Council of Agriculture. And sell it in the name of organic.

In addition to organic equivalence, the Organic Agriculture Promotion Law also includes relevant award and subsidy measures. Chen Jizhong, chairman of the Council of Agriculture, said that in addition to subsidies ranging from 30,000 to 80,000 yuan for organic cultivation depending on agricultural products, the Organic Agriculture Promotion Law also includes friendly farming. As long as it is recognized as friendly farming, it can receive an annual reward of 30,000 yuan per hectare. Chen Jizhong said that in addition to the incentives, there are also subsidies for organic fertilizers and biological control materials needed for planting, and the highest cost of verification is up to 90%. If the leased state-owned land is used for organic farming, the rent will also be reduced by 40%.

Chen Jizhong said that it is necessary to encourage farmers to engage in organic production and continue to expand access to organic agricultural products such as campus nutritious lunches. Schools in New Taipei City, Taoyuan City, Hualien County, Pingtung County, and Ilan County use organic vegetables or organic rice at least once a week for nutritious lunches, which have reached 163 metric tons per week. Hsinchu County and Taipei City will follow suit from next semester. Chen Jizhong also said that in addition to school nutritious lunches, the Council of Agriculture is also looking forward to working with the national army to increase the consumption of organic agricultural products, and will build a platform for civil servants to order organic agricultural products, looking forward to driving supply through demand.

Zeng Qi, the first monitor of the organic rice production and marketing class in Hualien, promoted organic cultivation in Hualien for 21 years. He said that it was very hard to promote organic farming in the past, and even conflicts with neighboring fields because of pollution in neighboring fields. The Organic Agriculture Promotion Law clearly stipulates that organic farmers who suffer from pond fish will not be punished as long as farmers take necessary protective measures such as hedges and buffer belts, they will not be punished because their agricultural products are contaminated by neighboring fields. Zeng Qi also said that the Organic Agriculture Promotion Law stipulates that the competent authorities are willing to promote organic agricultural products, including the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Education, and are expected to use demand to drive production, and after the signing of organic equality, they can also strengthen the export of organic agricultural products for export. to make farmers more willing to expand their production area.

The Organic Agriculture Promotion Law also stipulates that the Council of Agriculture should set up task groups to integrate the counseling resources of various units, and is expected to put forward a "Organic Agriculture Promotion Plan" this year, drawing up an implementation program for the promotion goals and development plans of organic agriculture. there will also be a rolling review every four years.

Hu Zhongyi, director of the Agriculture and Food Administration, said that according to the statistics of the Council of Agriculture, by the end of April this year, the organic area in China had reached 8957 hectares, and the area of friendly farming was 3237 hectares, with a total of 10 2194 hectares. accounting for more than 1.5% of the total arable land in China, "it is already the first in Asia." in recent years, the budget for organic agriculture is about 1 billion a year. After the implementation of the Organic Agriculture Promotion Law this year, a budget of 1.5 billion yuan is prepared to promote organic and friendly farming. The total area of organic and friendly cultivation is expected to reach 15,000 hectares by the end of next year, which will be promoted by the target of 10% annual growth from the year after next.

The Council of Agriculture held a press conference on the eve of the formal implementation of the new law, vowing to achieve the goal of organic agriculture throughout the country.

The Council of Agriculture held a press conference on the eve of the formal implementation of the new law, vowing to achieve the goal of organic agriculture throughout the country.

The Council of Agriculture held a press conference on the eve of the formal implementation of the new law, vowing to achieve the goal of organic agriculture throughout the country.