Taipei Times
Date: Nov 22, 2017
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

More advanced technology should be introduced into the agriculture sector to help grow produce and reduce losses caused by natural disasters, a Taipei forum on disaster prevention was told yesterday.

Agricultural losses from natural disasters last year totaled NT$28.01 billion (US$931.8 million at the current exchange rate), a 10-year high, with damage to facilities totaling NT$730 million and produce losses reaching NT$27.28 billion, date from the Directorate-General Budget, Accounting and Statistics showed.

Climate change is compounding the impact of natural disasters, causing more serious agricultural losses, Fang Yi-tan (方怡丹), a section head at the Council of Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Agency, told the forum at National Taiwan University.

The forum, organized by the Rural Economics Society of Taiwan and the university’s department of bio-industry communication and development, focused on how to boost the agriculture sector’s resistance to natural disasters.    [FULL  STORY]