29 November 2019
In this article, I won’t write about agriculture in its technical aspects, but about what happens after the harvest. Indeed, agroecology is also interested in how farmers with good practices can add value to their products, for agriculture can be sustainable only if it is economically viable for the producer.
In Chungli district of Taoyuan City, Zhong Yi-Ming’s small factory is producing rice flour from the rice of environment-friendly farmers. It is the sole factory in Taiwan producing this quality of rice flour, as they are using a special machine which grind the rice into a very fine flour. Ms Zhong has created her own brand, Realseed, in order to commercialize this high-quality flour. The two main sales pitch are that the flour is local and gluten free. Zhong Yi-Ming and her employees also enable these farmers to sell part of their rice as flour.
This flour can be used in a higher diversity of recipes than the usual coarser flour commonly found. For example, it can be used to make bread with a pleasant texture, even while being gluten-free.
In fact, Ms Zhong is a skilled cook, and has written a book of recipes that are using her factory’s rice flour.
Rice being the main crop in Taiwan, Ms Zhong hope to help smallholders diversify their outlet, and to sell at a price which really reflects the value of their work. Indeed, these farmers are producing smaller quantities and can have some difficulties to sell rice through major purchasers, which low prices are indexed to the international market.
One can then understand quite easily how the food-processing industry has a major part to play in promoting sustainable farming !
See you soon for more agroecology !
