2023 5th East Asian Organic Agriculture Forum

Global organic agriculture has experienced substantial growth in recent years, with organic farmland expanding from 11 million hectares in 2000 to 74.9 million hectares in total of of 190 countries in year 2020. Now representing 1.6% of the world's agricultural land. Oceania (35.9 million hectares- almost half the world's organic agricultural land ) and Europe (17.1 million hectares, 23%) are the primary regions for organic farming, involving approximately 3.4 million farmers. Leading countries in organic farmland include Australia, Argentina, and Uruguay, while the Liechtenstein and Austria stand out for their high proportion of organic farmland relative to total agricultural land. However, in Taiwan, government efforts to promote organic agriculture have had limited success, with organic farming covering less than 0.8% of total agricultural land. Although Taiwan consumes over 10 billion NT dollars in organic agricultural products annually, with more than 70% imported, domestic production remains below 30%. This underscores the significant potential for organic agriculture growth in Taiwan, especially given the increasing international trade in organic products. Collaborations with countries like New Zealand, exemplified by the "2006 Organic Workshop" have paved the way for organic equivalence agreements, enabling Taiwanese organic agricultural product exports to countries like New Zealand and Australia.

In response to these challenges, Taiwan passed the "Organic Agriculture Promotion Act" in 2018, prioritizing environmentally friendly practices that exclude pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and GMOs, thereby strengthening the foundation of organic agriculture. This legislation aims to protect natural resources, ecosystems, biodiversity, animal welfare, and consumer rights while fostering sustainable agriculture. As Taiwan progresses in implementing this law, it is essential to build consensus within the domestic agricultural sector and leverage international expertise to facilitate robust organic agriculture development. Post-COVID-19 restrictions in 2023 bring plans for an international "International Organic Agriculture Workshop," fostering collaboration among local organic farming professionals and aiming to align industry, government, academia, research, and internationalization objectives.

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Advisory Organization：Ministry of Agriculture、University Social Responsibility, Ministry of Education

Organizer：Sustainability Center of NanHua University, Master Program of Green Technology for Sustainability, Taiwan Sustainable Green Technology Development Association

Co-organizer：CH Biotech R&D Co., Ltd.

Contact person/number: Mr. Lai (05-2721001 extension 3421) & Xu Peishu (05-2721001 extension 3422)

A two-day summit of talks, activities and workshops

First day: November 12 (Sunday)

Event Venue: Zhenghan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. No. 89, Wenwen Road, Nantou City, Nantou County

Second Day: November 13 (Monday)

It is expected to invite 8 to 10 international lecturers and domestic lecturers, a total of 12 experts will serve as workshop experts, and through online, organic agriculture scholars and experts from various countries will be invited to participate in the workshop. Excellent scholars, researchers, organic agriculture practitioners and students will be invited to participate in the conference, exchange and share experiences and research results on various aspects of organic agriculture and circular economy, discuss the latest innovations, trends and concerns, challenges encountered and solution.

This workshop can provide a good communication platform for scholars in related fields, promote the progress of theory and technology in the field, and at the same time improve Taiwan's academic exchanges and development. After the workshop, visits to organic farms and orchid factories in Taiwan will be arranged to strengthen Technical exchanges between domestic and foreign scholars and experts.