Photos from Five Decades

In this 1976 photo, farmers load up a vehicle with freshly harvested bananas for delivery to a distribution center to be packaged for export.
(photo by Meng Qingchang)

During a hands-on demonstration event for paddy rice cultivation in Northern Taiwan, an instructor demonstrates the use of a tractor to till fields and teaches trainee farmers to operate it.
(photo by Zhu Zhengqi)

In 1982, Yingzhang Livestock Farm in Tainan was using mechanized production, with milking machines drawing milk directly from cows’ udders into tanks which were sent straight to a processing facility. (photo by Tang Ken-li)

In Piyaway, an Atayal Indigeous community located on slopeland beside the Northern Cross-Island Highway, farmers protect the land by using eco-friendly farming methods. (photo by Jimmy Lin) —“Comfort Food: Cultivating Taiwan’s Local Flavors” (December 2016)

Xiluo in Yunlin County is one of Taiwan’s major vegetable producing areas, mainly cultivating leafy vegetables. Looking out over the fields, everywhere one can see green plastic netting used to make net greenhouses. Even before sunrise, small farmers are already hard at work inside the greenhouses as they harvest fresh produce for sale at the nearby Xiluo fruit and vegetable market. (photo by Jimmy Lin) —“The Home of Vegetables: Xiluo Township” (August 2019)

An older woman working in a tea plantation in Meishan, Chiayi County. (photo by Kent Chuang)

This 1977 photo shows large pineapple harvesting machines gathering up the crop in a pineapple field.
(Taiwan Panorama photographers) —“Po Lo or Pineapples—Popular Fruit” (June 1977)

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, a.k.a. drones) can be used to inspect fields, survey storm damage, and spray pesticides and fertilizer. At the time this photo was taken (2018), efforts were underway to use UAVs with hyperspectral imaging sensors to identify pests and diseases, on the same principles as AI facial recognition. Such data can enable farmers to calculate the density of infections or infestations and formulate preventive and control strategies. (photo by Jimmy Lin) —“Smart Agriculture: Farming Goes High Tech” (August 2018)

Starting in May each year, schools of bluestripe herring arrive in coastal waters off Northern Taiwan. Traditionally fishermen in the Jinshan and Yeliu area of the North Coast have used “fire fishing” to catch the herring. The fishermen add water to calcium carbide to produce acetylene gas, which burns with a bright flame. Attracted by the light, the bluestripes leap out of the water into the air. It’s a remarkable sight.
(photo by Jimmy Lin) —“Fire Fishing” (October 2014)

The June rice harvest season coincides with the start of the typhoon season. Farmers, whose livelihoods depend on the elements, take advantage of clear days to bring in their crop before the weather turns bad. (photo by Jimmy Lin) —“Taiwan’s Professional Rice Harvesters: Nomads of the Paddies” (August 2013)

On Mt. Liushishi in Hualien County, the orange daylily (a.k.a. the “forget-your-troubles” flower) has its peak flowering season in August and September. Farmers leave some of the blossoms unharvested for tourists to admire.
(photo by Jimmy Lin) —“Forget Your Troubles with the Orange Daylily” (September, 2018)

The special zone for garlic chives in the Zhongxin neighborhood of Taoyuan’s Daxi District is covered with the plant’s white flowers each year from mid-August to late September. They look like a carpet of snow, and when you stroll through them, they seem to bring a hint of coolness amid the hot weather.
(photo by Jimmy Lin) —“September Snow” (September 2020)

Off-season production techniques enable people to enjoy orchids all year round. Taiwan’s orchid farmers are endeavoring to bring their flowers to every corner of the world. (photo by Jimmy Lin) —“Blooming Around the World: Taiwan’s Moth Orchids” (August 2022)

Taiwan red quinoa, which has a long tradition in Indigenous communities, became an important local crop for reviving the economies of many Indigenous villages following 2009’s Typhoon Morakot. The photo shows tribal elder Ba Qingyi harvesting red quinoa in Adiri, a Rukai community in Wutai Township, Pingtung County. (photo by Jimmy Lin) —“Taiwan Quinoa: An Ancient Native Variety” (January 2015)

Kezailiao, in Kaohsiung’s Ziguan District, has transformed from a small fishing village into a tourist center featuring a fish market. The market got HACCP certification in July 2015, partly by implementing a policy of not allowing fish to be dumped on the dockside when boats bring their catch ashore. Visitors can attend the seafood auction on the second floor. (photo by Jimmy Lin) —“Kezailiao: The Music Is Not Over” (May 2018)

In this 1977 photo, freshly harvested pineapples are stacked beside a field to await boxing up. (Taiwan Panorama photographers) —“Po Lo or Pineapples—Popular Fruit” (June 1977)

This 2013 photo shows young rice harvesters Fang Fuzai and his wife You Lixue working together seamlessly to quickly bring in the crop. (photo by Jimmy Lin) —“Taiwan’s Professional Rice Harvesters: Nomads of the Paddies” (August 2013)

If you visit the fruit and vegetable market in Tainan’s Yujing District in the mango harvest season, you will see mangoes of many shapes, sizes and colors, including the Irwin, Yuwen, Jinhuang, Haden, Xishi, Heixiang, Tainung No. 1, and Summer Snow varieties. There are at least 15 types. (photo by Jimmy Lin) —“Mangoes Galore” (August 2023)

Penghu County boasts excellent natural conditions for net cage aquaculture. The county has long been promoting its own brands of premium fisheries products, delivering great seafood into the hands of consumers.
(photo by Jimmy Lin) —“Penghu Rocks! Taiwan’s ‘Most Beautiful Bay’ in the Limelight” (June 2017)

In this photo, taken in Fangyuan, Changhua County in 2017, one can see old aquaculturists still using an ox cart to tend their oyster beds in the traditional way. (photo by Jimmy Lin) —“Oyster Bed March” (July 2017)

After years of effort, in 2008 the Zhounan Salt Field in Budai, Chiayi County yielded the first new harvest of its “white gold”—sun-dried sea salt. (photo by Jimmy Lin) —“Sun, Seawater, and Culture—The Formula for Taiwanese Salt” (September 2016)