Restoration work at Mataian yields fruit: official says

• By Esme Yeh / Staff reporter

• • Add TT as Preferred Source

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Up to 224 hectares of a farmland damaged by last year’s Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) barrier lake overflow in Hualien County has been restored and planted with dryland crops, with a specialty product made from the post-disaster crops, soy milk blended with millet, launched in Taipei yesterday.

The post-disaster recovery efforts were led by the Ministry of Agriculture and implemented mainly by the Hualien District Agricultural Research and Extension Station in collaboration with agricultural authorities and local agricultural workers.

Station Crop Environment Section chief Tsai Yi-chen (蔡依真) said disaster-stricken farmlands amounted to nearly 774 hectares, of which 383 hectares were lightly to moderately affected with a mud buildup of 50cm or less.

Products from Hualien County are pictured at an event hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: CNA

Such moderately affected fields have the potential to restore their soil fertility through soil improvement methods, Tsai said, adding that test results showed that the mud is free of heavy metal.

They were initially uncultivable due to damaged soil structure, poor soil drainage and post-disaster debris accumulation, she said.

The station used excavators and plows to help remove debris and turn the soil to depths of up to 70cm, Tsai said.

It also applied organic fertilizers or planted green manure crops for up to three months to restore the farmland’s fertility, she said.

The station has collaborated with the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute on growing cherry radishes, kale and buckwheat, and trail planting at the Mapulong Farm and Pangcah Farm in the county’s Guangfu Township (光復) from November last year, Tsai said.

Most other restored farmlands were planted with dryland crops such as soybean, millet, sorghum or corn, she said.

The soil improvement methods have boosted local soil fertility, Tsai said.

For example, the corn cultivated on restored fields grew stronger and weighed up to 262g per ear of corn, much higher than those planted on fields without using organic fertilizers, at 39g per ear, she said.

Up to 224 hectares of the affected land has been restored and cultivated with dryland crops, she added.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽) said the region used to focus on rice production prior to the disaster.

However, irrigation water has become more difficult to obtain due to the enhanced flood prevention works after the disaster, he said.

With the Irrigation Agency’s efforts to drill wells and divert water, dryland crop cultivation has become feasible for the region, Huang said, adding that sales channels and markets must be adjusted accordingly.

To help promote the crops, the ministry’s Resources Sustainability Department formulated environmental, social and governance (ESG) projects, and invited corporate participation in post-disaster recovery, he said.

The station said the ESG projects include corporate investments in post-disaster cultivation training, organic fertilizer procurement, agricultural machinery donations, millet soy milk purchases, charity meal services and indigenous crop cultivation.