Sugar and rice were once the pillars of Taiwan's economy. Rice was strictly for domestic consumption, while sugar was mainly for export. Before Taiwan's industrialization began in 1963, sugar remained the island's leading foreign exchange earner, contributing as much as 74 percent of total hard cash earnings in peak years.

No one knows when sugar was first planted in Taiwan, but an apparent reference to it has been found in a book written during the Yuan dynasty, which was founded by Genghis Khan. The passage in question said that the Chinese in Taiwan "made sea water into salt and turned cane into sugar."

During the period of Dutch occupation, from 1642 to 1661, sugar-refining techniques were introduced from Fukien province across the Taiwan Straits, and sugar became a major export item.

When Koxinga recovered Taiwan from the Dutch, he introduced new varieties of cane for commercial planting on the island, making Taiwan a major supplier to the world sugar market. Leading customers at that time were Japan and the Philippines.

Millstones were used to crush the cane during Koxinga's day. When the Japanese occupied Taiwan in 1895, planting techniques were improved and modern refineries were built, pushing production up to the third largest in the world.

When Taiwan was returned to the Republic of China after World War Ⅱ, the sprawling sugar refining industry was controlled by Japan's four major industrial firms. Among the 42 refineries, 34 were wrecked by Allied bombs, bringing production almost to a standstill.

During the early days of Taiwan's Retrocession, Japanese technicians working in the sugar refineries were retained. An orderly transfer of the operations was completed when the Taiwan Sugar Corporation was established on May 1, 1946. Since, Taisugar has worked hard to restore and expand the refining facilities and to cultivate better varieties of cane.

There are four ways of growing cane in Taiwan--autumn planting, spring planting, ratoon cultivation, and growing cane together with rice.

Autumn planting takes place between July and November, and the crop takes 16 months to grow. The spring planting is done between December and April of the following year, and the crop matures a year later. In ratoon cultivation, the new crop is grown from the stubble of the old one and again takes a year to mature. In mixed cultivation, the cane is planted in paddy fields before the rice crop is harvested.

About a third of the cane used by Taisugar refineries comes from the company's own farms, while the remainder is supplied by contracted farms.

The contracted cane farmers receive loans, fertilizer and technical assistance from the refineries, and are entitled to 55 percent of the proceeds. They may also sell their share of the sugar to the refinery at a guaranteed price.

The current guaranteed price is NT$13,400 (US$372) a ton. If the price on the world market is higher than the guaranteed price, a certain percentage of the balance is set aside for the price equalization fund which allows Taisugar to subsidize and encourage cane farmers to improve their production techniques. If the export price is lower than the guaranteed price, the deficit is made up from the equalization fund. Because of this system, production of sugar in Taiwan has not been affected by the fluctuations in sugar prices on the world market.

In recent years, a new problem has appeared: More and more rural workers have moved to the cities as a result of industrialization, thereby posing a threat to the company's supply of raw materials.

Taisugar has been putting in every effort to raise the per hectare production of cane, so it can maintain its annual production of about 800,000 tons of sugar.

One of its approaches has been to improve the quality of the cane. Since Taiwan's Retrocession, a total of 830 strains of sugar cane have been introduced from Hawaii, the Philippines, Australia and South Africa. One of the most successful, called N:Co 310, was donated by a South African experimental farm.

By 1954, this new strain was grown on 81 percent of sugar cane farms in Taiwan. It earned large amounts of hard cash for the country and eased economic hard- ship on the island. In honor of this contribution, a tablet was erected at one of Taiwan's major refineries.

Despite its success, the role of this strain was reduced after 1959, as it was gradually replaced by other varieties cultivated by Taisugar through its own efforts. Now, 98.6 per cent of the cane farms have switched to the new varieties.

In the past, sugar cane was cut up before planting, but now it is planted in one full-length piece. Four workers, usually women, riding the planting machine, feed the canes into chutes for laying in furrows, while an attached trailer covers them with soil. The workers sing folk songs as they go about their work.

Man and animal have largely been replaced by machines doing such work as preparation of land, weeding and transportation. These machines are indicative of the progress in agriculture in Taiwan, while buffaloes and sickle-holding cane cutters have faded into history.

To facilitate the operation of these machines, Taisugar has consolidated farms under its control. Private cane farmers have also cooperated by merging their holdings into "collective farms" which cut down on labor needs and increase profits.

Each "collective farm" is headed by a general manager elected by and from among the farmers. He is assisted by several skilled assistants in planting, tilling, watering, pest control, and accounting. Other farmers who are not required for the work find jobs outside the farm, but they still are allocated a share of the harvest based on the size of their plots.

This is Taisugar's solution to the problem of labor shortage. Nobody complains, and smiles can be seen everywhere.

Taisugar runs a research institute, which was founded more than 80 years ago. Its activities cover cane propagation, improvement of farming techniques, study of plant nutrition, pest control, sugar chemistry, and development of by-products.

To diversify its operations, Taisugar also runs the largest hog farm on the island. The farm, established in July 1954, is divided into sections of animal husbandry, veterinary science and research. In 1973, the farm was incorporated into the Taiwan Hog Research Institute and its name was changed to the Animal Husbandry Research Institute.

The task of this new organization is to introduce new breeding hogs for the benefit of individual hog farmers as well as the Taisugar farm. The hard work put in by this new institute has put Taiwan's hog raising industry on a scientific footing.

[Picture Caption]

1. A cane plantation is set on fire to burn out the dead leaves on the stalks before harvesting is done by machine. 2. Cane is hauled to a refinery by small-gauge railway. 3 & 4. All operations on the Taiwan Sugar Corp. farms are done by machine.

Except on a small plot, cane is harvested and hauled with machines. Opposite page shows big evaporation tanks installed in a refinery, crushing of cane by machine, and crude sugar produced in a refinery.

1. & 2. Control of sugar cane aphids is being tested at Taisugar's research institute. 3. Machines are used to feed hogs on a Taisugar farm. 4. Feed is produced from sugar by-products.

Taisugar has explored all the uses of its by- products. 1. Molasses is made into delicious yeast sweets. 2. Containers for making yeast. 3. An alcohol plant operated by Taisugar, using molasses as raw material. 4. & 5. Bagasse is used for making paper pulp. 6. A salad oil plant affiliated to Taisugar's Hsiaokang refinery. 7. A heap of "wet" bagasse, which is developed by Taisugar as a firebreak.

Cane is hauled to a refinery by small-gauge railway.

All operations on the Taiwan Sugar Corp. farms are done by machine.

All operations on the Taiwan Sugar Corp. farms are done by machine.

Except on a small plot, cane is harvested and hauled with machines. Opposite page shows big evaporation tanks installed in a refinery, crushing of cane by machine, and crude sugar produced in a refinery.

Except on a small plot, cane is harvested and hauled with machines. Opposite page shows big evaporation tanks installed in a refinery, crushing of cane by machine, and crude sugar produced in a refinery.

Except on a small plot, cane is harvested and hauled with machines. Opposite page shows big evaporation tanks installed in a refinery, crushing of cane by machine, and crude sugar produced in a refinery.

ll operations on the Taiwan Sugar Corp. farms are done by machine.

ll operations on the Taiwan Sugar Corp. farms are done by machine.

ll operations on the Taiwan Sugar Corp. farms are done by machine.

Control of sugar cane aphids is being tested at Taisugar's research institute.

Control of sugar cane aphids is being tested at Taisugar's research institute.

Machines are used to feed hogs on a Taisugar farm.

Feed is produced from sugar by-products.

Molasses is made into delicious yeast sweets.

Containers for making yeast.

An alcohol plant operated by Taisugar, using molasses as raw material.

Bagasse is used for making paper pulp.

Bagasse is used for making paper pulp.

A salad oil plant affiliated to Taisugar's Hsiaokang refinery.

A heap of "wet" bagasse, which is developed by Taisugar as a firebreak.