Foresight in the countryside season 2 01 "Oriental white storks accompany Japanese children to school, but Taiwan refuses to sell land on the pond, coming out of agricultural pride."

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From traditional rural areas to science and technology agricultural parks, we can see the "sustainability" and "vision" of global agriculture, planned by internationally renowned director Liu Song and supervisory commissioner Lin Shengfeng. "Vision in the Countryside", which took four years to shoot and produced, was continuously praised in 2018, and won the Golden Bell Award "non-dramatic Director Award" this year. Today is about to launch the second season, following the Oriental White Stork flying back to Toyooka City, Japan, driving into the Fenlo Green Port in the Netherlands to see the Agricultural Innovation Park, walking through the Schwaben Valley in Germany with Mino Sheep, and going to San Francisco to have a glass of wine. Finally, he returned to Taitung Pool to be proud of growing rice.

"upstream and downstream" exclusive interview director Liu Song and Lin Shengfeng, guide reading wonderful content and production ideas, the series is divided into two articles, read the following please click here.

In an exclusive interview with PTV's Vision in the Countryside in the second season, director Liu Song and Lin Shengfeng's general planner (photo courtesy of Public TV) are all on the move to let the Oriental White Stork return to Japan.

The oriental white stork, which is regarded as a lucky bird in Japan, was once a common bird. Toyooka City, which is surrounded by mountains and the sea of Japan to the north, is considered the hometown of oriental white storks. But during World War II, Japan cut down a large number of pine trees in order to fight, making the oriental white storks lose their nesting space. Farmers changed their paddy fields into dry fields and used pesticides in order to achieve yield. due to various factors, the last native oriental white stork died in 1971.

Taiwan's wildlife is separate from the living space of most people, but in Toyooka, Japan, oriental white storks haunt rice fields and roadsides, sharing living space with the Japanese. Liu Song believes that the residents who saw oriental storks and lived together in their childhood felt uncomfortable when they saw the death of the last bird.

In order to restore oriental white storks, Toyooka City introduced six oriental white storks from Russia in 1985. Through the efforts of the central and local governments and people, the establishment of a restoration center, genealogy of each bird, wetland arrangement, artificial nest tower, etc., and even the Municipal Government Office set up the "Oriental White Stork Symbiosis Class", dedicated to the restoration of oriental white storks.

Toyooka City, Japan (Photo courtesy of _ Public Television)

Oriental White Stork (Photo courtesy of Public TV) in Toyooka City, Japan. Don't use pesticides, the oriental stork is coming! "

The living environment of the oriental white stork must be in the shallow water area of the dwarf grass, so the rice field has become the key to restoration. The Municipal Government Office launched the "Oriental White Stork farming method", which is cultivated in an organic way, and still releases water in the field when fallow in winter, so that the oriental white stork can live. After harvest and processing, the "Oriental White Stork Certification" is used as the guarantee of agricultural products, and some communities even break the boundaries of the fields for the sake of the Oriental White Stork, taking into account the economy and the participation of the whole people, so that the Oriental White Stork can return to the Japanese sky.

Liu Song said that now more and more farmers are using the oriental white stork farming method, and now about 10% of farmers use it.

Farmers in Toyooka City, Japan (photo courtesy of Public TV) observe ecology like a drama where oriental white storks go to school with their children.

Because the pine trees have been cut down, Fengoka City has built an artificial nest tower for oriental white storks to live in. The nesting tower has been calculated because the oriental white storks are regional and fight with each other if they are too close to each other. Some nest towers are built by people. One of the nest towers is located next to the school.

The nest tower next to the school has become a part of students' daily life. Children go to school every day to observe the oriental white stork family in the nest tower and write reports. "the genealogy records are very detailed. Like TV dramas, there are records of who is single, who robbed his wife, who seduced whom, when he was born, and how long he started flying." Lin Shengfeng said with a smile.

Lin Shengfeng believes that the emergence of oriental white storks is an indicator, and farmers are willing to change because they are worried that pesticides will kill oriental white storks. In addition to the agricultural law, Toyooka's case is the result of step-by-step changes, including agricultural law, education, community, feeding grounds, training lecturers, community training, and so on. The city government's "Oriental White Stork Symbiosis course" is also the product of the change process.

The artificial nest tower of the oriental white stork in Toyooka, Japan, the bird's nest is next to the school (photo courtesy of Public TV) Lin Shengfeng: imagine, if the last Taiwanese black bear dies, will Taiwanese be in a good mood?

"the oriental stork is not a panda, and if the panda doesn't look like this, maybe no one will care about its survival at all." Liu Song believes that in addition to its beautiful posture, the oriental white stork is also given a symbol of luck and good fortune, which is related to Japanese society and culture. therefore, after the successful restoration, the emperor's cronies came to preside over the release, and its survival is even related to the face of the nation. Lin Sheng-feng uses an analogy: "imagine if the last Taiwanese black bear dies, will Taiwanese be in a good mood?"

Sheep are actually plant arks to protect where people live in the Schwaben Valley.

The camera turned to Europe, the Schwaben Valley in southwestern Germany, with the sheep industry as the axis of life and livelihood. However, after the emergence of cotton and synthetic fibers, the price of wool plummeted, and the local wool industry was transferred to the mutton market. The sheep industry is facing a crisis of elimination.

Through the research of scientists, it is found that sheep will be covered with all kinds of seeds, and continuous walking can improve the diversity of local plants, and keep trampling on the ground as they move, preventing thorn shrubs from turning into forests, and eating strong-growing grasses to maintain ecological balance.

Scientists believe that once the traditional sheep industry disappears, it will have an impact on the ecological environment and nature along the valley. As a result, farmers, farm operators and local cultural figures in the Shiwaben Valley began to try to revitalize the sheep industry.

The traditional shepherds in the Schwaben Valley in Germany (photo courtesy of Public TV) shepherd sheep not to make a fortune, but to preserve the shepherd culture.

Liu Song explained that local shepherds have only 150,180 people, and it takes about 100 hectares and 400 head of sheep to make ends meet, but the price of mutton imported from Australia is only 1/6 of that of local Meino sheep, and the price is not competitive. the local development of tourism, leather and other industries on the basis of sheep herding is to preserve the sheep culture and maintain the ecological balance in the valley.

In the film, Stocks, an old shepherd, develops a diversified shepherd business, with mutton for local restaurants, while wool and sheepskin are co-designed by local designers to support farmers through ecological conservation centers. Liu Song said: "what they want is not to develop and carry forward, so it is mainly to provide domestic demand, the aim is to continue to preserve the industry."