NTU SEEKS FUNDS TO REPAIR HISTORIC RICE BUILDING|"蓬萊米之父"磯永吉木屋古蹟 民間募款盼修復

In Taiwan, Penglai rice is known for its unique fragrance and delicious taste. And it was the result of research carried out by Dr. Iso Eikichi during the Japanese era. His laboratory, which now belongs to National Taiwan University, has recently been designated as a historic site. Now the university is hoping to raise NT$2 million to renovate this building. This wooden hut in National Taiwan University is the Iso Eikichi hut. The 91-year-old building has been designated as a historic monument by Taipei City Government, but it is clearly in need of care, as panels on the outside of the building are damaged and the walls are clearly peeling. The windows do not close, and inside, conditions are just as bad. ==WU LUNG-SHEN, Iso Eikichi building guide== This wall is made of bamboo and plaster, you can see the whole thing is damaged. This is a very early building on the NTU campus. This old building was the site of Dr Iso Eikichi's work on the Penglai rice variety, which is very important in Taiwanese agriculture as it allowed Taiwan to increase production and feed the country. This research building was a witness to the history of rice in Taiwan. National Taiwan University Department of Agriculture hopes to repair the building, but the school funds are limited. The university is working with civil groups, hoping to raise NT$2 million to restore the building. ==PENG YUN-MING Prof. NTU Dept. Agriculture== I think the university would consider repairing it, but it is not a priority, it would be one of the last items to be undertaken, so in all this time, there has been no progress. At present, the starchy rice eaten by Taiwanese is the result of research and development of improved varieties by Japanese. The university hopes that people will respond and help with funds to repair so that the historic building will survive. TRANSLATED BY：CLARE LEAR 這棟座落在台大校園的木造小屋，是已經有91年歷史的磯永吉小屋，早被指定為台北市定古蹟，不過明顯可見，屋外的雨淋板破損，牆面也明顯剝落，甚至連窗戶都關不起來，走進屋內，屋況也一樣糟。 ==磯永吉小屋解說員 吳龍昇== 它這個是竹編夾泥牆 看到這個整個的破損 在台大來講這個算 比台大還早期的一個建築 這棟小屋所承載的不只是歲月，更是蓬萊米之父磯永吉，成功改良梗稻、讓它在台灣提高產量並普及的研究基地，見證台灣稻米發展史，台大農藝系希望修繕但校方經費有限，因此現在與民間團體合作，希望募集200萬元經費。 ==台大農藝系兼任教授 彭雲明== 我猜想學校對這個修繕 它不是沒有考量 可是它的優先順序 大概是排在非常後面 所以就是遲遲沒有什麼進展 現在台灣民眾吃到有黏性的米，正是以當年日本學者研發基礎、改良而成的品種，本於「吃果子拜樹頭、吃米飯敬田頭」的精神，主辦單位希望民眾能響應修繕，把這棟歷史小屋好好保存下來。 記者 林靜梅 吳嘉堡 台北報導