Taitung hit by worst drought in 30 years

Officials of the Taitung Irrigation Association said Wednesday that although they have diverted water from four streams in the county to help farmers, the volume of water still falls short of what farmers need to begin second-stage rice planting, and more than 50 percent of the tea crop has already withered.

Lo Wen-chi, a section chief with the county government’s Agriculture Bureau, said the county government has requested help from the Cabinet-level of Council of Agriculture, which will send senior officials to the county Thursday to work out emergency measures.

Taitung County has not had its usual share of rain since early this year, officials said. Citing an example, they noted that the county’s Chihshang township, one of Taiwan’s main centers for producing organic rice, has recorded a total rainfall of only 258 mm thus far this year — less than one third of the normal amount — and that the expected plum rain season between May and July has never appeared.

Now water wells in Chihshang township are running dry, something local residents say they have not seen in 60 years. Some officials of the Taitung Irrigation Association urged the county government to ask the central government to provide subsidies to compensate farmers for their failed crops.

They also suggested that farmers let their farmland lie fallow so as to create a win-win situation by giving their lands a rest and preventing overproduction of rice this year.

Meanwhile, Taiwan Water Corp. indicated that it has activated eight deep-water wells in the county to maintain household supplies. Officials of the company called on residents to be water thrifty lest the company may need to begin providing water to different neighborhoods on a rotating basis.

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