Heavy rains in Taitung caused damage to red dragon fruits. Legislator Chen Ying urged the Ministry of Agriculture to speed up assistance

Due to previous heavy rains, Taitung red dragon fruits have suffered damage such as fruit drop and cracking. (Provided by Chen Ying Legislator Service Office)

Taitung has been experiencing continuous torrential rains recently, which coincides with the harvesting period of red dragon fruits. Some orchards have experienced damage such as fruit drop and fruit cracking. After receiving the petition from fruit farmers, legislator Chen Ying invited units from the Ministry of Agriculture for a meeting. Chen Ying asked the Ministry of Agriculture and relevant units to quickly grasp the disaster situation, and the identification of agricultural damage and subsidy operations must be "simplified and expedited" to help the affected farmers overcome the difficulties as soon as possible.

The current red dragon fruit planting area in Taitung is about 49.5 hectares in Taitung City and 27.1 hectares in Beinan Township. It is now entering the critical harvest period. Affected by the recent continuous heavy rains, some orchards have experienced fruit drop and cracking. Continuous rainfall and high-humidity environment may further affect fruit quality and subsequent harvest. Fruit farmers reported to Chen Ying that they hope the government will grasp the actual disaster situation as soon as possible, assist in identification and rescue of agricultural damage, and reduce losses caused by heavy rains.

Chen Ying emphasized that the most important thing in natural disaster relief is "speed". She asked the Ministry of Agriculture and relevant units to stand from the perspective of farmers, make the procedures as simple and as fast as possible, proactively grasp the disaster damage situation, and speed up the investigation and identification.

The Taitung District Agricultural Improvement Station of the Ministry of Agriculture stated that after crops are affected by heavy rains, some damage may appear after the rain, and farmers are reminded to continue to observe the damage to orchards. If fruit drop, cracking, damage to fruit quality or other disasters occur subsequently, photos should be taken as soon as possible to record the damage, and reported and reported to the local township (town, city) office to facilitate subsequent on-site investigation and damage determination.

Chen Ying also called on farmers to make good use of the "Agricultural Natural Disasters Photo APP" to instantly photograph, record and upload crop damage after natural disasters such as winds and heavy rains, leaving objective disaster damage data as a reference for subsequent applications for agricultural natural disaster cash assistance to protect their own rights and interests.

Chen Ying invited the agricultural administration unit, councilors and the local district chief to hold a meeting. (Provided by Chen Ying Legislator Service Office)