Food and fertilizer
Another international organization based in Taiwan that is devoted to eliminating poverty and hunger is the Food and Fertilizer Technology Center for the Asian and Pacific Region (FFTC), which was set up even earlier than the AVDRC. But because FFTC's main mission is to collect and disseminate information on agricultural technology, it has a smaller staff than the AVDRC and does not have its own experimental farm or research personnel. Hence even fewer people outside the field of agriculture are aware of its existence.
The scholarly and cultured director of the FFTC, Dr. Wu Torng-chuang, previously worked for many years at the Sino-American Joint Commission for Rural Reconstrucion and at the Council of Agriculture, and has devoted his life to agriculture and to soil fertility improvement. Like most people working in agriculture, he has an unassuming and straightforward personality. He knows all there is to know about the background to the establishment of the FFTC, and the valuable work it has done over many years.
Amid the material prosperity of today, it really is hard to imagine that only 30 or 40 years ago in the 1960s, food shortages were a matter of grave concern in countries around the world, particularly in the many developing nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
In Asia, the main reason for inadequate production of staple foods (most importantly rice) was backward farming techniques and insufficient fertilizers. Because of this, in 1968 the Asian and Pacific Council (ASPAC), a regional forum of foreign ministers, began to discuss solutions, and decided to set up the FFTC. Because Taiwan was a relatively advanced subtropical country, it was decided to locate the center in Taipei.
In February 1969, ASPAC convened a preparatory conference in Taipei, attended by experts from various countries, to examine the technical feasibility of setting up the center. The conference passed a resolution recommending its establishment, and the following year the FFTC was formally set up in Taipei, with nine countries as its founder members: Japan, South Korea, the Republic of China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.
From the center's inception, its orientation and mission were extremely clear-to collect and disseminate information on agricultural technology, mainly for the benefit of small farmers in the Asia-Pacific region, with the aim of assisting them in increasing their production of staple foods, mainly rice. Therefore, in the first decade of the FFTC's existence, its programs were focused on soil and fertilizer management, the nutrient requirements of rice plants, and control of major rice pests. It was the first international center to specialize in control of rice brown plant hopper, which became much more destructive after the introduction of short-term high-yielding rice varieties and chemical pesticides. Many people may still remember that in those days the plant pathology department at National Taiwan University was very popular, with many talented young people going into research into crop pests and diseases.
In the 1980s, production of rice and other crops increased, and the threat of major famines receded. Economies in the Asia-Pacific region began growing rapidly. Thus the FFTC shifted its focus to crop diversification, high-value crops, satisfying demand from urban consumers, and improving farmers' ability to respond to market forces. The center's information services now also covered horticultural crops and livestock production.
In its third decade, like the AVRDC the FFTC is seeking to address the issue of environmental degradation resulting from overdevelopment, by pursuing sustainability in agricultural production.
The FFTC is shifting away from old strategies which gave top priority to yields and increasing farmers' incomes. It is now devoting more attention to common worldwide problems of agriculture like soil exhaustion, pollution of groundwater, overdevelopment of slopeland, and destruction of biodiversity. It is resorting to new agricultural technologies and placing more emphasis on things like environmental regeneration, restoring soil fertility, and better management of fertilizer use. New methods are also being applied to the marketing side, establishing sales channels, pre-sale inspection, and after-sales service. Every effort is being made to apply local technology and to leave behind a planet on which future generations can survive.
In the last three decades, because of changes in the international political situation, the number of member countries has fallen from nine to five: Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Yet the scope of the FFTC's activities has constantly expanded. It cooperates with more than ten international bodies including the AVRDC, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Asian Productivity Center, and the Asia-Africa Agriculture Development Organization. It also shares information with more than ten Asia-Pacific countries (including Australia and New Zealand) through seminars, training classes, field demonstrations, surveys, and both regular and occasional publications.
The FFTC has long been involved in providing information and guidance to the livestock industry.