'ADOPT A PEAR TREE' SCHEME GOES FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN MIAOLI|苗栗拚農業.觀光 三灣青年續推"梨樹認養"

Last year, for the first time, Miaoli County's Sanwan Township promoted a scheme to adopt Asian pear trees. However, due to the climate and the difficulty of promoting the scheme and other factors, the result wasn't as good as it had hoped for. However, local young pear farmers were not deterred. This year with the theme of 'grow a pear tree for your family', they have continued to promote the scheme. Although there has been a recent cold snap across Taiwan, the pear trees have blossomed quite well. This year the pear grafting situation in Sanwan Township went well and young pear farmer Hsu Chih-hsiung started the 'adopt a pear tree' scheme, for the second year. This year there are 150 pear trees in the first batch for adoption. Nine farmers are participating in the tree adoption scheme, with about 20 hectares. As pear trees get older, their adoption is a new and necessary trend. Miaoli County Government hopes to promote visitors for tourism and recreation to activate agri-business opportunities throughout the Sanwan area. ==CHEN SHU-YI Bureau of Agriculture Acting Dir., Miaoli County Govt.== We can use the pear blossom and the Dongfang Meiren tea from Sanwan, then we will have an agricultural recreation area, so that visitors who have adopted trees can come here and spend some money. Sanwan pears have always been of high quality, with stable prices, but pear farmers are gradually ageing and for many years have taken the risk of grafting pears. They are now giving way to younger farmers. Young farmers are taking over, hoping to attract urban consumers to invest in the orchards for their holidays. The 'adopt a pear tree' scheme guarantees a harvest and hopes that for a reasonable adoption price, the number of people participating in the scheme will rise. ==HSU CHIH-HSIUNG Sanwan 'adopt a pear tree' scheme originator== We have both large and small trees, for small trees, we can guarantee a harvest of around 70 catties. For big trees we can guarantee a harvest of around 130 catties. If it is over, then everyone benefits. Hsu remarks that, this year, adopting a large pear tree costs NT$13,000 and a small tree, NT$9,000. This is the second year of the scheme, the farmers all hope for help so the trees have a good harvest and adopting the trees becomes a trend, bringing new opportunities to the countryside. TRANSLATED BY：CLARE LEAR 苗栗縣三灣鄉 去年首度推出梨樹認養計畫 但受到氣候條件不佳 推廣不易等因素影響 成果未達理想 在地青年梨農不因此受挫 今年以"為家人種棵梨"為主題 繼續推動認養計畫 ==os== 雖然日前強烈寒流襲台 不過可以看到梨樹開花狀況良好 今年三灣鄉水梨嫁接情況順利 由青年梨農許智雄發起的 梨樹認養計畫 第二年展開募集 今年首批梨樹認養數量高達150棵 參與認養計畫的梨農增加至9人 面積達20公頃 面對梨農高齡化 梨樹認養是趨勢也是必要 苗栗縣政府也希望 藉此帶動觀光休閒人潮 活絡整個三灣農業商機 ==苗栗縣農業代理處長 陳樹義== 如果能在這個梨花之下 尤其我們的三灣有東方美人茶 我們也有我們三灣的休閒農業區 那(認養梨樹)遊客一到來這裡 他還可以消費 ==os== 三灣水梨向來質優、價格穩定 但是梨農逐年老化 長年承擔嫁接梨樹風險 讓不少梨農萌生退意 如今青年梨農接班 希望吸引城市消費者 投入假日田園生活 梨樹認養推出保證收成數量 希望合理的認養價格 帶動梨樹認養風氣 ==三灣梨樹認養發起人 許智雄== 我們是以大樹小樹來分的 那小樹的話 我們可以保證 到70台斤的正負10％ 那大樹的話 是130台斤的正負10％ 如果有超過的話 就大家都豐收 ==os== 許智雄指出 今年的大棵梨樹認養金額 是1萬3千元 小棵梨樹9千元 對於梨樹認養推動第二年 農民都希望老天爺也能幫幫忙 讓梨樹能順利收成 協助梨樹認養成為風氣 為老邁的農村帶來新契機