Kun-Fong Kuo, Director of Taoyuan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station
Oral Information/Kun-Fong Kuo Editor/Irene Yang; Kuo, Yen-Feng Photographer/Lee Leo
The Taoyuan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station (TYDARES) has been assisting farmers in solving operational problems, with investment in technological innovation and research in the vegetable industry, to attain the objective of enhancing the income and competitiveness of farmers. To achieve this, TYDARES Director Kun-Fong Kuo stated that the solution starts with problem identification. It was found that the leafy vegetable industry is labor-intensive, with land preparation accounting for 9% of labor, planting 29%, cultivation management 17%, and harvesting as high as 45%. Labor shortage is a primary issue that must be constantly addressed from planting to harvesting.
Fig. 1 Director Kun-Fong Kuo told his colleagues that the solution to operational problems of farmers starts with the identification of problems.
Systematic Development of Automated and Smart Equipment
1. Sowing/Transplanting
In Taiwan, direct seeding and transplanting seedlings are two main approaches used in leafy vegetable growing. To save time and labor, shorten the growth period, and minimize damage by pests and diseases, TYDARES developed "leafy vegetable variable row spacing transplanter," the first of its kind in Taiwan. Director Kuo stated that its operational efficiency is 3.8 times that of traditional manual transplanting, with a rate of transplanting success at 95%, significantly improving farmers' work efficiency and cutting the time costs.
Fig. 2 The "Variable Row and Plant Spacing Leafy Vegetable Transplanter" increases manual transplanting efficiency by 3.8 times, achieving significant saving of time and labor.
2. Smart Irrigation
In response to labor shortages and climate change in the vegetable industry, TYDARES has long since developed smart irrigation systems. Director Kuo remarked with a smile, "Smart means turning farmers' experience into intelligent systems. We go watering the field with the farmers and gradually convert their experience into programs." Using block-based programming, TYDARES has developed the automatic irrigation control, helping many farms establish smart irrigation systems. This system sends real-time alerts to mobile phones, allowing farmers to monitor field irrigation conditions and adjust irrigation amounts based on weather conditions, saving 9% of water and reducing 90% of irrigation labor.
Fig. 3 Using block-based programming, TYDARES has developed the automatic irrigation control.
3. Harvesting
In Taiwan, amaranth is a major greenhouse vegetable, harvested manually with sickles. Director Kuo noted, "how can an elderly woman harvest these vegetables in the hot weather?" Mechanical harvesting saves labor and time during harvesting. TYDARES developed an "electric bulk leafy vegetable harvester," which saves 66.6% of time compared to manual harvesting and has a damage rate of less than 5%.
Fig. 4 The "electric bulk leafy vegetable harvester" saves 66.6% of time compared with manual harvesting.
Modular Cultivation Techniques with Production Process Management
The second issue to address is the significant impact of the environment on the yield and quality. TYDARES developed modular cultivation techniques and guided farmers in integrating production process management to achieve planned production without market saturation. For example, by introducing an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) system for advance prevention over treatment, TYDARES reminds farmers that chemical use is a last resort and should be used only away from pesticide-free areas, not only improving the quality of leafy vegetables but also ensuring consumer safety.
Fig. 5 Safe and reduced use of pesticides prevents diseases utilizing the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) method.
Additionally, a production scheduling and smart order system was developed to help farmers determine planting dates and areas after receiving orders, and/or to estimate shipping times and yield per unit area based on the types of leafy vegetables, growth days, and climate conditions, enabling early pest and disease warning and production scheduling.
Promoting Smart Agricultural Ecosystem for Leafy Vegetables Produced under Facility Culture
Director Kuo said firmly, "I always stress that our research results must be grounded in practice. Challenges from farmers will lead to further research and improvement, ultimately resulting in good outcomes." To promote agricultural innovation and research and transfer technologies to farmers, TYDARES first made contact with key operators, such as Tao-city Veg.agricultural Production Cooperative and Jia Yu Organic Farm, to subsequently solve farmers' problems. "We stood by their side to earn their trust, and once the key operators are familiar with and effectively use these technologies, the positive results will spread by word of mouth more effectively than me talking about it 100 times," said Director Kuo.
Fig. 6 The "automated facility management machine" allows remote observation of machine operation status.
Fig. 7 The electric bulk leafy vegetable harvester is used in the harvesting of bok choy without damage to the appearance.
With the recognition received by the demonstration sites, TYDARES further promoted the smart agricultural ecosystem for leafy vegetables produced under facility culture, aiming to popularize smart production facilities through cooperation with smart agriculture ecosystem vendors, local governments such as Taoyuan City and Hsinchu County, and subsidies from the Department of Agricultural Science and Technology and the Agriculture and Food Agency, ultimately enhancing farmers' incomes.
TYDARES also assists key operators in expanding their market channels. For instance, Tao-city Veg.agricultural Production Cooperative noticed that the younger consumers are ready to accept fresh foods sold at convenience stores like 7-11 and that pre-cut vegetables are welcomed by busy office workers. It began producing pre-cut vegetables, with the help from TYDARES to stabilize production through smart agriculture, ensuring smooth post-processing functions.
Youth Farmers Returning to Lead Sustainable Industry Development
TYDARES has a comprehensive plan for young farmer guidance. It is in collaboration with the central government primarily in addressing land acquisition and funding, as well as providing agricultural technology training, product marketing, and financial management courses. For example, a young couple in Hsinchu with around 5,000 square meters of land but no farming experience received guidance from TYDARES and have now become a successful demonstration site. "When they are willing to share their experiences, these young people are brought together easily. They like to interact and share, and I feel they are driving Taiwan's agricultural development. Returning to their hometown for a career is a correct choice," said Director Kuo.
"Forming associations among young farmers to foster close connections was my idea behind the event of ‘100 Top Young Farmers’. This goal was to facilitate the exchange of information and the sharing of knowhow" recalled Director Kuo. They will become a powerful force monitoring the government, which is beneficial. With young farmers' oversight, the industry will progress.
Fig. 8 Through various technology observation meetings, TYDARES facilitates knowledge exchange among farmers, thereby enhancing their income.
Fig. 9 Vegetables, green bamboo shoots, and rice produced under facility culture are the major crops in Taoyuan, accounting for the largest planting areas in the territory that TYDARES serves.
Fig. 10 The Prototyping Center for Value Added Agricultural Products at TYDARES provides real time one-on-one coaching services to assist farmers’ entering in secondary processing industries.
Developing Technology Kits for Schools to Promote Food and Agricultural Education
Addressing issues like eco-friendly practices, hunger eradication, and sustainable rural development are among the primary focus of TYDARES. Unlike the isolated events promoted by farmers’ associations for food and agricultural education, Director Kuo believes that TYDARES, as a R&D institution, should adopt a steady promotional approach. First, the diverse expertise of the staff should be integrated, with a technology kit built to link to government resources and the practical fields of schools. Interested teachers are invited to participate to develop into seed teachers through training courses and workshops. This approach solves schools' problems and further guides young farmers to apply the expertise, assisting in building both software and hardware in practical fields.
For example, as many schools spend a huge amount of money annually to dispose of dead leaves on the ground, TYDARES provides compost bins for students to use, recycling the leaves into fertilizer for growing vegetables. These vegetables can be added to students' lunches or taken home, so the practice reaches teachers and parents through the students. Moreover, food and agricultural education are integrated into the curriculum, with some schools using smart irrigation as a topic for information education.
Team Operations for Transformation and Upgrading
Valuing the practical application of scientific research, Director Kuo stated, "Vegetables, green bamboo shoots, and rice produced under facility culture are the major crops in Taoyuan, accounting for the largest planting areas in the territory that TYDARES serves. Therefore, our R&D is based on demand. Expertise should be developed and spread to more operators, even overseas. Products can be exported, so is software equipment.”
"I also value interaction with farmers. Companionship is crucial. In the process we find problems. These problems seeking solutions become R&D topics for TYDARES. I consider this a positive feedback loop." TYDARES operates through cross-departmental team cooperation, providing labor-saving machinery, agricultural information services, and post-harvest processing solutions to assist farmers in upgrading, aiming to improve efficiency, promote safety throughout the production process, and reduce risks under climate change, ultimately achieving high-efficiency of the whole facility.
Fig. 11 The efforts and achievements of TYDARES staff have earned domestic and international recognition.