The results for the 2018 Taiwan Rice Competition were announced on September 26. Two of the champions and one third-place winner are from Taitung, making Taitung the biggest winner of all the regions that participated. In the “Good Rice of Taiwan” division, Zhuang Xinyuan from Guanshan won first place and Zhang Zhuangjian from Chishang won third place. In the “Organic Rice of Taiwan” division, first place was awarded to Zeng Pengzhang of Chishang.

The Taiwan Rice Competition is the biggest rice contest in Taiwan. This year, 824 farmers submitted their rice for the first round, but only 20 qualified for the second round. The competition was fierce for the mere six awards to be given, but Taitung won three of them, serving as a strong affirmation of the hard work toward improving technique by Taitung’s farmers.

Taitung County is blessed with a great environment, climate, and soil that are quite suitable for the cultivation of rice. Moreover, local farmers are so enthusiastic about learning new concepts and techniques that the courses in agronomic practices held by the TTDARES are frequently unable to meet local demand. From what they have learned, farmer are carrying out a variety of practices on cultivation and disease/pest control, visiting each other’s farms and learning from each other. The TTDARES will continue working hard alongside farmers to promote the quality of Taitung rice and boost the local rice industry.