Government Recruiting New Group for Dairy Farming

 COA chief Lin Tsung-hsien said the approach is one of the ways the council is trying to lure new blood into agriculture to avoid having to bring in foreign workers to fill the manpower gap.

"The government would only consider allowing in migrant workers as a last resort to prevent a hollowing-out of Taiwan's rural areas," Mr Lin said.

The 50 men recruited will be sent to help at local dairy farms for a six-month period after being trained for one month, said Chu Chien-wei, head of the COA's Department of Farmers' Services.

The COA will only discuss the possibility of bringing in foreign workers for Taiwan's dairy farms with the Ministry of Labor if the domestic recruitment program does not work, Mr Chu said.

"The Ministry of Labor would never agree to allow in migrant laborers to work on Taiwan's farms if we don't try to resolve the problem with domestic workers first," Mr Chu explained.

The latest initiative is part of a training program to cultivate local agricultural talent launched a year ago. The COA sent around 600 trainees to help fill about 10 percent of the openings in the agricultural sector over that time, Mr Chu said.

TheCattleSite News Desk