The Ministry of Agriculture held the 8th Top 100 Youth Farmers Commendation Ceremony, Qiu Ze’s clam farmers were recognized

The Ministry of Agriculture held the 8th Top 100 Young Farmers Commendation Ceremony today. Chen Shijie, who is engaged in clam farming, was also recognized. He looks like the actor Qiu Ze, and his style of painting is different from the stereotype of farmers. His family has been engaged in aquaculture for the fourth generation. He admitted that he was often questioned because of his appearance when he first took over the family business, but the performance of farming is the best recognition.

A total of 106 young farmers won awards in the 8th Top 100 Young Farmers. The average age of the top 100 young farmers selected this year is 34 years old. According to the industry category, there are 68 awards in the agricultural and food categories, 8 awards in the fishery category, 12 awards in the animal husbandry category, 4 awards in the beekeeping category, and 12 awards for special crops such as coffee and camellia oleifera. This year, a total of 27 female youth farmers have won awards. The Counseling Department stated that it believes this represents the continued increase in the energy of women in agricultural management and industrial innovation.

The young farmers who won the award this time include Cao Minbei, who has been engaged in oncidium cultivation for 21 years. His family originally grew grapes, and his father gave birth to all daughters. He has been familiar with farming since he was a child. He also studied agriculture-related subjects in college and took over the family after graduation. After the business started, he decided to switch to oncidium with higher output value. He also combined food and farmer education with tourism experience, including turning the flower field into a sea of luminous flowers during the off-season. In the face of labor shortage, he also developed the intelligent and labor-saving remote operation equipment Happy Ark to improve production capacity and quality.

Chen Shijie is also a young farmer who was recognized this time. He said that in the past, his family actually raised milkfish fry, and the number of fish clams raised at home was as high as 30. He was originally working in Taipei's high-end boutique industry. More than 7 years ago, he received a call informing him that his father had fainted from heat stroke while patrolling the fields.

Although Chen Shijie, who is often called the Little Prince of Clams, is eye-catching in appearance, he is often questioned by uncles, aunts, uncles, aunts and uncles from the fishermen's association or other farmers engaged in farming, such as "Do we really need to raise clams seriously?" due to his appearance. However, he used his first-line breeding achievements to eliminate the doubts. Regarding these questions, Chen Shijie said that he grew up next to a fish farm when he was a child. He often helped out during holidays when he was a student and was very familiar with farming. "As long as you see me working next to the fish farm once, you will know that I am a genuine fisherman."

In order to further promote the clams raised at home, Chen Shijie also founded the brand "Clam Shrimp" and promoted food farmer education, hoping to let more people know the delicious clams from Tainan.