Heavy rains caused disasters due to rainstorms in the Mudan Mountain area of Pingtung. Unable to apply for disaster subsidies due to non-vegetable and fruit categories

The mushrooms in the Peony Mountains of Pingtung were flooded. (Provided by farmer Ms. Ding)

Disastrous torrential rains in consecutive days in August severely damaged Pingtung's agriculture. However, the rare and special agricultural products located in Pingtung's Mudan Mountain area were reported to be severely damaged. Due to the heavy rain, the mushrooms growing in the field collectively "exploded" due to excessive water absorption, and the tissue structure was shattered, completely losing their original commercial value. However, when farmers were preparing to apply for agricultural natural disaster cash assistance in accordance with regulations, they were ruthlessly excluded because current regulations did not properly include it in any traditional "fruits and vegetables" items. Legislator Xu Fugui received the petition and also studied with the Ministry of Agriculture, hoping to improve regulations and assistance in the future.

Heavy rains in August caused disasters. The abundant rains caused the water storage capacity of the Peony Reservoir to surge to 91% in a short period of time. The water conditions greatly quenched thirst. However, the heavy rains made the water bladders of the Pleurotus lucidum overloaded and burst. Although most of the plants returned to the mycelial state and did not really die, they lost their plump mushroom-like appearance like fungus and could not be sold on the market. However, because of the characteristics of this algae, the recognition of fruits and vegetables has always been outside the cash disaster subsidy standards. Farmers bluntly stated that not only could they not apply for cash disaster subsidies at all, but also the subsequent low-interest agricultural loans that needed urgent turnover could not be successfully applied for in the name of disaster losses, leaving local young farmers in a dilemma with no way to seek help.

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Ding Cailun, the person in charge of "Stewardess's Pleurotus", which has been recognized by one of the top 100 young farmers, said helplessly that the Pleurotus cerevisiae, whose official scientific name is "terrestrial blue-green algae", was romantically called "lover's tears" by the locals because it only appeared after rains in the past. However, when there were two heavy rains in June and August, it turned into "peasant's tears". Ding Cailun further explained that in the face of the severe test of nature, the couple is currently racing against time, fighting against the mud on the ground to collect the remaining intact mushrooms, and strictly controls the subsequent cleaning and screening processes to maintain the quality of shipments.

In response to this dilemma of reservoirs being fully funded but farmers being left alone and trapped in the dead end of the alternative disaster damage system, legislator Xu Fugui expressed great importance after receiving local petitions and promised to invite the Ministry of Agriculture and other relevant units for in-depth discussions. He hopes that in the future, a more flexible and complete disaster prevention assistance and loan recognition mechanism can be established for such special and emerging agricultural products, so that hard-working grassroots farmers can obtain the substantive rights protection they deserve.

Tragic disasters have been reported in Yulaigu in the Mudan Mountain area of ​​Pingtung. (Provided by farmer Ms. Ding)

The abundant rainfall increased the water storage capacity of the Mudan Reservoir to 91% in a short period of time. (Photo by reporter Cai Zongxian)