The Meifeng Experience--New Prospects for Highland Farming

On this cool autumn afternoon, our car winds along the Wushe section of the Central Cross-Island Highway, past Chingjing Farm enfolded in mountain mists, and through the European-style chalets that dot the slopes. Soon, in this densely wooded setting, we arrive at the Meifeng experimental farm.

Meifeng's 600-plus hectares are at the center of National Taiwan University's experimental highland farming operation. While six years ago Meifeng was open only to academic researchers, the ecotourism camps it sponsors are now making its name known to the general public.

Entering Meifeng's cultivated areas, a flat, one-hectare space greets us with open-air fields of flowers flanking the straight roadway-the graceful beauty of stars-of-Bethlehem sending out new shoots and occasional blooms opening in fields of ornamental cabbage. Several greenhouses rise along the roadside in the serene quiet of these fields set among the lush woodlands.

"We leveled this area, and the Japanese cedar and Taiwan cryptomeria around it were planted in the 80s," explains farm secretary Hsu Ya-ju. Originally a 20-degree incline, soil from areas high on the slope was transferred to build up lower areas, so that planting could help reduce soil and water runoff. The larger crop area also increases productivity by allowing efficient mechanized fertilization, weed cultivation, pruning and training of plants, and harvesting. The planting of new stands of forest on the slopes above and below the leveled land reduces erosion due to rainfall and provides natural water filtration. All cultivated areas at Meifeng feature similar layouts.

The NTU highland "shelterbelt / base / facilities" system.

A first for Taiwan

The special approach to management of these lands through the "shelterbelt/base/facilities" method (see illustration, p. 44) was experimentally developed and revised over the years at the farm to help prevent soil erosion and to develop land management methods suited to Taiwan's unique climate and topography.

Former NTU horticulture professor Chen Chung, who planned and implemented these methods, points out that traditional soil conservation employs stepped contour terraces, hillside drainage ditches, and surface grass coverage to reduce soil loss (see illustration, p. 44). But terraces are narrow and their retaining banks thin, and because they're so easily broken by peasants tramping across them to work the land, they can't function effectively to block runoff. Beyond that, farmers have to invest extra labor in maintaining and irrigating the grass cover.

Chen Chung believes that the small cultivated plots of traditional farming make it difficult to use efficient, labor-saving technologies and thus hinder competitiveness in international markets. The usual remedy for this has been even further exploitation of the land, and as Chen Chung points out with a pained expression, "the result was heavy use of pesticides and fertilizers, increased soil depletion, and environmental pollution."

In addition to land leveling and afforestation of surrounding areas, the "shelterbelt/base/facilities" approach also includes the use of rain screens and temperature control. Rows of rain canopies and drainage systems spread out across the planted grounds to reduce the amount of rainwater entering the cultivated soil, eliminating the risk of soil slippage and reducing the runoff of agrochemicals and fertilizer. This lowers the rate of water pollution within the watershed while reducing the threat to crops from pests and disease.

Chen says, "These new methods segregate the crops from the surrounding environment. Environmental factors affecting crop growth are controlled and pollution is prevented from seeping into the outside environment"-an example of the directions taken by the new "environmental agriculture."

Seven years of work at the NTU experimental farm have produced an approach featuring "low-intensity development combined with ecotourism." Shown here is the farm's well-known aspen-lined avenue.

Tested in wind and rain

After base areas are set up at Meifeng, vegetable crops suitable for cool, high elevations can be planted by machine instead of by hand; fruit trees too are planted in rain-sheltered systems and managed for increased yields. The wooded areas that separate cultivated fields from the original land provide staged filtration of contaminants from rainwater runoff. Meifeng's soil management methods have proven effective enough to preserve its resources over an eight-year period that has seen numerous typhoons and the 921 earthquake.

As Hsu Ya-ju points out, "There's no need to prohibit high-elevation farming in Taiwan if it's done right." That means proper selection of sites and attention to water conservation, and the Meifeng experience shows that needless calamities are indeed preventable. But Meifeng's management techniques require extensive leveling and afforestation, which are beyond the capabilities of the small farmer without government assistance. "Unfortunately," Hsu points out, "unsupportive social trends and public land policies are impediments to government involvement." Much academic research is therefore destined to be shelved before reaching implementation.

Typhoon Herb's furious assault on central Taiwan in 1996 provoked waves of criticism of the overexploitation of hillside land areas. In view of social trends and the impact of Taiwan's future accession to the WTO, it was decided that the NTU farm would switch to eco-experience tours and environmental education: thus was born the "Meifeng Eco-Experience Camp."

This 2000-square-meter cultivated "base" plot with greenhouse facilities and afforested surrounding slopes is typical of NTU's highland experimental farm. It has remained intact through typhoons and the 921 earthquake.

The move to ecotours

Farm director Chang Yu-sen explains, "We base the camps on our existing crops and cultivation areas. We've set up activities including bird and insect watching and stargazing, premised on the idea of no additional land development and using the abundant resources of the surrounding virgin forests. We also have ecological gardens and displays of seed samples and dried flowers." Word of mouth has spread from the school and business groups that have attended the eco-experience camp, and with prearranged tours that meet the restriction of 120 visitors per day, Meifeng now accommodates an average of 13,000 visitors per year as its core business, bringing in annual revenues of over NT$10 million.

"Low-intensity development in tandem with ecotourism provides one possible route to developing high-elevation agriculture in Taiwan," says Yang Ping-shih, former dean of the NTU College of Bio-Resources and Agriculture and currently professor in its entomology department. While their yields may not be as high, orchards with grassy carpets are more appealing tourist targets than vegetable plots and messy, fly-ridden poultry pens, and provide an excellent backdrop for displays of produce. Likewise, they require less pesticide and pollute far less. By restricting numbers of visitors and adding handicrafts and locally based creative enterprises, high-mountain communities can become self-sustaining.

At the NTU farm, however, reservations remain about whether high-elevation agriculture should shift entirely away from crop production and toward ecotourism.

"While agriculture has a higher impact on soil conservation and the environment than primeval forest, it still ranks lower than roads, concrete structures, and recreational facilities," as Chang Yu-sen and his associates point out. If the land management system they've perfected over the years were applied to the existing highland agricultural base, the results would be more conducive to conservation of resources than a complete shift toward leisure and tourism operations, and since most Taiwanese take their outings on weekends, the greatest benefits in cultivated areas could come from retaining the focus on agricultural production during the rest of the week.

"Ecological conservation and biodiversity should absolutely not be equated with sealing an area off to follow its own natural cycles regardless of the effects on local residents," says Chen Chung. Short of undertaking mass resettlement of residents in mountainous regions, it will be impossible to avoid the question of what constitutes reasonable development of these areas. "The problem has been made worse by two factors-the government's passive stance, neither guiding nor restricting development, and the overheated rhetoric of environmentalists," adds Chen, in a sincere plea for attention to issues surrounding highland agriculture. Only such much-needed guidance will provide the answer to preservation of Taiwan's high-mountain ecologies.