Daily News

View All News

Taiwan – Plan to recruit foreign agricultural workers proves contentious

24 October 2014

A proposal by the Taiwanese Council of Agriculture to open the country’s labour-strapped agricultural sector to foreign workers has sparked debate, reports focustaiwan.tw

Taiwan's agricultural population is aging rapidly, due mainly to the low income agricultural jobs and lack of interest in farming among young people. Official statistics indicate that the average age of workers in the sector is now 57.5, with those 44 and under making up only 12%.

In 2013, the average income of agricultural households was TWD 985,000 (USD 32,384), which equated to 81.2% of the average income of non-agricultural families. Some farmers have had to find non-agricultural part-time jobs to supplement their income, but such opportunities are few.

Many are concerned that if foreign workers are allowed into the agricultural sector, the already scarce jobs may disappear.

Some have suggested that Taiwan could draw on Japan's programme, which permits the recruitment of foreign workers for its agricultural sector during busy seasons, under a technical internship programme similar to Australia's working holiday programme. There are currently around 6,000 such workers in Japan, most of whom are Chinese, and they are strictly restricted to agricultural jobs only.

Family-owned and individually-operated farms in Japan are allowed to hire a maximum of two foreign interns. For large corporate farms with over 301 workers, the number of foreign interns cannot exceed 0.05% of the local staff.

In South Korea, only farms three hectares or bigger are allowed to hire foreign workers, with the total nationwide quota set at between 2,000 and 3,000 people at the initial stages.

It has been suggested that, as most Taiwanese farms are individually-owned, that the government should provide an integrated hiring solution and manage foreign agricultural workers collectively. The government has also been called upon to promote high-quality agriculture and help the sector expand its overseas markets, which in turn will increase the incentives for young people to get involved in agriculture.