Yunlin County government’s smart agricultural transformation initiative delivers positive results

(中央社訊息服務20260518 10:23:44)Yunlin County Magistrate Chang Li-shan (張麗善) visited the He Hsing Fig Orchard in Douliu City on Feb. 9 to review the implementation results of smart agricultural facilities under the county government's "Smart Agriculture Innovation Business Subsidy Program." She stated that through this program, the county government has actively assisted farmers in adopting smart agricultural technologies to strengthen agricultural resilience and improve industrial competitiveness through technological innovation. The program has delivered positive results, and the county government will continue promoting smart agriculture initiatives to support the technological transformation and smart upgrading of Yunlin's agriculture.

County Magistrate Chang noted that increasingly frequent extreme weather conditions, changes in the agricultural labor structure, and rising operational risks have brought agriculture to a critical stage of transformation. The county government has therefore identified "smart agriculture" and "digital transformation" as key priorities in agricultural policies. Since launching the “Smart Agriculture Innovation Business Subsidy Program” in 2023, the county government has assisted farmers in transitioning from traditional weather-dependent farming practices toward precision management through the introduction of smart technologies, thereby enhancing agricultural competitiveness and sustainable development.

County Magistrate Chang explained that figs are crops that are highly sensitive to weather conditions, requiring sufficient sunlight and are vulnerable to rainfall. In the past, farmers needed to remain on standby around the clock to manually operate greenhouse skylights, which was labor-intensive but often unable to respond quickly to sudden weather changes, resulting in high risks of crop losses. In 2025, the county government provided subsidies for He Shing Fig Orchard to implement smart greenhouse skylight and smart irrigation systems integrated with real-time weather monitoring, temperature and humidity sensors, and remote-control technologies. The system can automatically adjust the greenhouse skylight and irrigation operations according to real-time weather conditions. Following the introduction of the smart agriculture systems, disaster-related crop losses at the orchard have been reduced from over 15% to below 5%, while the yield rate has increased to 95%. Smart systems have not only significantly reduced labor time but have also helped stabilize product quality. The county government will continue expanding successful smart agriculture models to other crops and farming sites, enabling more farmers to benefit from smart technologies while reducing agricultural disaster risks.

Fig farmer Liu Mao-hsin (劉茂鑫) of the He Shing Fig Orchard said that traditional farming practices previously required constant on-site monitoring of weather conditions, making it difficult to leave the orchard. With the introduction of the smart systems, he can now remotely monitor orchard conditions and operate greenhouse skylights and irrigation systems through a mobile phone, significantly reducing labor demands and effectively minimizing losses caused by natural disasters. He expressed appreciation to the county government and the farmers' association for their guidance and support in helping farmers gradually transition from conventional farming toward facility-based and smart agricultural management, enhancing agricultural resilience and sustainable development.

Tsai Keng-yu (蔡耿宇), deputy director of the Agriculture Department, said that the county government’s smart agriculture subsidy program has been implemented for two consecutive years, supporting nearly 50 demonstration sites covering a variety of crops such as greenhouse vegetables, fruit trees and rice. It includes using smart micro-weather monitoring stations, precision irrigation systems, water-saving facilities and big data analysis technologies, with management models tailored to the operational needs of different crops.

The Agriculture Department further noted that the county government has allocated NT$15 million for the program this year, with applications scheduled to open in March. Experts and scholars will be invited to provide technical consultations to assist farmers in adopting the latest smart agriculture technologies, further advancing Yunlin agriculture toward high efficiency, improved product quality and sustainable development.