Heavy Rains Inflict US$2M in Agricultural Losses Across Taiwan
Weeks of continuous downpours have inflicted massive agricultural destruction across southern Taiwan, totaling over US$2 million in losses since early June. Yunlin and Pingtung counties bore the brunt of the devastation, losing critical peanut yields and aquaculture crops to saturated soil and freshwater overflows. Local growers are now voicing mounting frustrations over competition for drying infrastructure and disaster relief policies as typhoon season looms.
YUNLIN, TAIWAN: "These are the sprouted ones. They’ve been soaked in water and have rotted. Had I picked the peanuts three or four days later they would all sprout like this."
A crop of spoiled peanuts in Yunlin... after weeks of continuous rain drenched southern Taiwan.
Yunlin county is one of the country’s major sources of peanuts.
Farmers are rushing to salvage the good ones... but spreading them out to dry becomes a new problem.
MR. LEE, PEANUT FARMER (Yunlin, Taiwan): "Not every road can be used to dry peanuts so we have to queue up to do it. If you harvest a bit later than everyone else your peanuts will all have sprouted by that point."
In the coastal area... workers are sealing up breaches in several saltwater fish ponds... to keep the overflowing gutters from pouring in more fresh water.
The recent deluge has caused fish farmers massive losses... Not only were fish washed out of the ponds... but aquaculture crops like clams cannot survive in low salinity.
CHEN WEN-CHIU, TAIXI TOWNSHIP REPRESENTATIVE (Yunlin, Taiwan): "With rainwater and fresh water flowing into the ponds less than 30% of the clams survive. With this latest rain the clams will develop many illnesses."
Besides land and water crops... The recent spate of rain has also struck farms in Pingtung’s mountains... where they grow a type of edible algae called nostoc... or more commonly called witches’ jelly.
But there’s no help available for local algae farmers.
MS. TING, NOSTOC FARMER (Pingtung, Taiwan): "In just two weeks without any shipments I’ve lost thousands of US dollars. I’ve tried to save most of it. What I couldn’t save will have to grow back on its own. Nostoc is not included in disaster relief."
Over two million US dollars in agricultural damages have been recorded across Taiwan since the beginning of June.
Pingtung and Yunlin together account for over 70 percent of that amount.
And with typhoon season just around the corner, farmers and authorities are anxious about what may come.
