Summary: | 碩士 === 佛光大學 === 樂活生命文化學系 === 103 === After Taiwan joined WTO, the agriculture has been facing adverse impact. The average income of farmers is only 60% comparing with the average NI (National Income), and the former is reducing year after year. Population of Taiwan’s agriculture tends to be aging and getting fewer.
However, young people are still hopeful and willing to devote themselves to organic agriculture. In this study, action research method is adopted. Through pragmatic experiences, the researcher kept records and reviewed the path of Taiwan’s organic agriculture, trying to find out the way for the future. In the process of reviewing, the researcher realized that the farmers are in a situation of low-income and high-labor. They are under psychological and social pressure of low income. Meanwhile, the practitioners of organic agriculture are losing their core concept, becoming “organic factories”.
The researcher found young people are difficultly to participate in farming because of the following reasons: 1. Taiwan is densely populated. 2. It is not easy for young farmers to get either official farmer identity or subsidies from farmers’ association. 3. The benefits of farming products mainly belong to distributors. 4. The prices of farming products in Taiwan are not competitive because of free trade. 5. Laborers are generally not respected in modern society. 6. There are contradictions between efficient producing methods and sustainable agriculture.
To solve the problems, the researcher recognized that “community supported agriculture” is adopted in other countries. For environmental protection and organic production, this way makes consumers and farmers to take responsibilities and risks together. It helps cost down the price of marketing, and also helps the sustainable agriculture prosperous. The farming marketing pattern will be much different than before.
In order to make the consumers of community supported agriculture to continue their advocating, the researcher restart education to promote the concepts. This idea also helps farmers and consumers to realize the land ethic, which is the philosophy of organic agriculture. When people have willingness to coexist with nature, and regard themselves as a part of lands in a “wholeness” perspective, they will no longer seek utmost profits on agriculture. The ideal of sustainable agriculture will be easily accepted and accomplished.
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