The Ministry of Agriculture released the winners list for the 34th National Top Ten Shennong Award and Model Farmer Awards a few days ago. One of the winner’s is Hsinchu County’s own Hsu Feng-li (Jason Hsu) , leader of Zhubei City’s Aquaculture Production and Marketing Group. Hsu’s efforts in applying probiotics and smart technologies to breeding mullet fish and white shrimp passed four levels of review (township/city; county; regional; and national) to garner him a Model Farmer Award. Hsinchu County Magistrate Yang Wen-ke states that, given how Hsu is using technological approaches to promote an “evolution” in aquaculture, and how highly his products have been praised by consumers, the award couldn’t go to a more deserving person than Hsu.
Hsu has previously served at an Industrial Technology Research Institute metrology center, and has also worked as a math and science teacher in a cram school. His father is getting older, and is now bothered by retinopathy, which has made it difficult to keep doing work around the farm. The fish farm that the elder Mr. Hsu had built since he was young was now threatened with no one to take over the business. As a result, Hsu Feng-li made a firm resolution: To return to his roots and continue his father’s fish farm business.
By introducing the use of probiotics in fish breeding and water quality monitoring systems, Hsu has overcome two difficulties faced by fishing communities: an aging population, and labor shortages. He has simultaneously enhanced breeding efficiency and management accuracy. The mullet roe he produces is deemed top-quality in terms of color, presentation, and texture, and it has a creamy, fat-rich taste. The farm’s white shrimp are equally delicious – fresh, firm yet tender, and exuding a natural sweetness.
In addition, he has single-handedly created a brand, Hsinchu Chiafong Aquatic Products Co., Ltd., while working hard to develop secondary processed products. Examples include Mullet Roe Sauce, Mullet Roe XO Sauce, Mullet Caviar Noodles, and Mullet Sausage. These products have been named Hsinchu County Select, Rural Good Product, and Ministry of Agriculture Eatender selections, and have even been honored as a Sea Feast Aquaculture Select Product by the Ministry of Agriculture’s Fisheries Agency. Not only does Chiafong provide excellent quality, but they have also greatly enhanced production value, winning the appreciation of many consumers in the process.
Hsinchu County Government Agriculture Department Director Fu Chi-mei further explains that Zhubei City’s Baziku area is famous for being the largest mullet breeding area in northern Taiwan, as well as the northernmost mullet breeding area in Taiwan. The mullet roe produced here is naturally dried through the Ninth-Month Winds (strong winds that blow during the ninth month of the lunar calendar), and this helps create its unique flavor and unparalleled quality. However, traditional mullet breeding requires both experienced judgment and strenuous work from the fish farmers. This makes it a high-labor, high-skill, but also high-risk industry. The long periods required to breed mullet have made young people shy away from the industry. Hsu has focused on using pure seawater and ecological mullet breeding, while introducing smart monitoring systems to establish a database. By transforming experience into data models, he is helping reduce manual workloads while also controlling risks. He is also passionate about helping other group members build smart energy-saving aerators and smart distribution boards so that they can reduce production costs and save energy together.
In addition to all that, Hsu is also an active participant in industry-academia collaboration programs to provide young people with internship opportunities. This way, young people can gain real-world experience in the aquaculture industry, while also gaining future employment opportunities in the field. And even more, Hsu cooperates with the County Government to promote the policy of using local mullet for school lunch dishes in Hsinchu County’s junior high schools and elementary schools. And he helps organize Fish-based Diet Education Experiences for school children, thus promoting marine ecological education. All these contributions truly make Hsu Feng-li a model for the fishing industry.
Magistrate Yang stated that it is no small feat for Hsu to have become a model farmer. Thus, in addition to the NT$50,000 prize money awarded by the Ministry of Agriculture, the County Government has given him another NT$50,000 as further encouragement. Magistrate Yang expressed hopes that Hsu can continue his innovation in fish farming and keep mitigating the industry impacts of having aging populations in fishing communities. The County Government will continue to help integrating agricultural and fishery resources, and to promote innovative marketing, in order to drive overall development for agriculture and fishery, and to promote sustainable industry operations.