In accordance with organizational restructuring at the Ministry of Agriculture, the Taitung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station (TTDARES) held a sign unveiling at 11:00 in the morning on August 8 to mark reaching a new milestone. Lee Hung-hsi, head of the ministry’s Science and Technology Department, attended the ceremony to witness this important moment in history, as did representatives from the Executive Yuan’s Eastern Taiwan Joint Services Center, the Eastern Branch of the Agriculture and Food Agency, the Taitung County Government, the Taitung County Farmers’ Association, farmers’ associations in various communities of Taitung, and the Young Farmers’ Union.
In her speech, Lee stated that the restructuring proclaims that the ministry and the TTDARES not only must be organized in a more precise and more efficient way to respond to the needs of those in the agricultural sector but also must stand with farmers as one by continuing to support agriculture in Taiwan and Taitung. TTDARES Director Chen Hsin-yen stated that the TTDARES would keep to the three-pronged R&D developmental direction of “Indigenous people’s traditional crops, early ripening and full harvests, and organic LOHAS living,” working hard at variety breeding, technology R&D, promotion, and education. In addition, the TTDARES has in recent years become greatly involved in organic, eco-friendly farming R&D, the promotion of food and agriculture education, consultation in obtaining food safety certification, and training residents of Indigenous communities, all in an effort to achieve a variety of win-wins with farmers and create a sustainable, exceptional agricultural environment.