On July 14, the Taitung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station (TTDARES) of the Executive Yuan’s Council of Agriculture and the Taitung County Farmers Association co-held a three-day “Small Farm Community Creation and Production/Marketing Course”. The event ended as a success on the afternoon of July 16 with 35 young local farmers enthusiastically participating in the class.
The course was organized as a vivid, fun group exploration. Students learned to deal with conflicts and communicate their concepts. By learning how to make their groups cohesive and set goals together in pursuing challenges and advancement, they co-created their ideal future farms and were encouraged to come up with unique modes of cooperation. In their lectures, experienced farmers advised the students to establish modes of operation that sustainably integrate ecology, production, and lifestyle. They also encouraged students to seek assistance from agricultural promotion organizations. Lecturers shared about the use of food and agriculture activities as well as agrotourism events, linking people and the land through brilliant, enriching experiences. During the classes on food safety, food education, and traceable agricultural products (TAP) , lecturers suggested allowing consumers to see the importance farmers place on the value and special features of their crops. In this way, farmers can build closer relationships with consumers through sharing an appropriate amount of information. Finally, a promotion expert taught about how to sustain customer management in terms of getting a firm grasp on and proactively working toward maintaining relationships with customers.
After three days of exceptional classes and guidance, not only was the road opened for these young farmers to create their own brands, but by gathering them together and bringing them closer, they are more likely to work together in the future in producing and selling local, high-quality products. This is sure to help Taitung as a whole become known as an outstanding agricultural brand.
