Page 41 - An Overview of Penghu

Prefectural Farmers' Association

The old Penghu Prefectural Farmers' Association was affiliated to Kaohsiung Prefectural Farmers'
Association. It became its Penghu Branch in 1920 before returning to an independent status in July 1926, when
Penghu restored its state as a prefecture. It has remained Penghu Prefectural Farmers' Association since then. The
Association contributes to the development of agriculture here by working hand in hand with the government's
Industry Office.

The budget for the Association was 8,549 Taiwanese yen in 1931. Its main operations include improving farm
produce, pig and chicken farming, encouraging gardening and growing grass for feeding livestock, cultivating
straw seedlings, providing medical care to livestock, transporting dairy cows, subsidizing farm produce
competitions, rewarding contributing members, and more.

Forestry

According to various historical records, it seems that there were once forests on Penghu Island, but they were
excessively logged when the Island was occupied by the military and left unattended afterwards, without new trees
being planted for restoration. Penghu became a barren land as a result.
After the takeover of Taiwan, the prefectural government's investigation indicated the need for improvement
of the above situation; trees can now be seen everywhere thanks to the continuous commitment of soldiers, officials,
and civilians for creating forests. As mentioned previously, the Island has become a sterile land due to the lack of
management over a long period. Afforestation in the Prefecture is difficult due to the unique condition on the Island
that is unseen elsewhere. The soil on the surface is being scraped away by winds and rains. While rainfall continues
to decline, there are no mountains that can protect islands from erosion of strong winds and salty rains, which turn
the landscape flat and stony. Adding to these problems, the Island is being constantly attacked by seasonal winds in
winter, which lasts half a year.

Therefore, the prefectural government should choose trees with resistance to winds and rains when it comes to
afforestation. It also has to plant trees closer for them to support each other. The following are the schemes being
implemented for the Prefecture's afforestation:

Ÿ Reforestation for desertification prevention:

The reforestation for desertification prevention was conducted in areas for shelter forests following the above
guidelines. Satintail, beach cabbages, and river tamarinds were grown during phase I, while Australian pine tree,
Indian almond, and albizia lebbeck were grown in phase II. The reforestation project started in 1913, with 13 spots
of 182.03177 hectares chosen for forest plantation. The government spent 19 years (1913-1931) restocking forests
at six spots, which amounts to 58.95707 hectares. It then planned to replant forests in the seven remaining areas of
123.0747 hectares in 28 years (1927-1954), with a budget of 5000 Taiwanese yen every year. The project continued
to receive the annual budget until 1930, then faced a cut in budget and could only receive 3,553 Taiwanese yen
every year from 1931. Thus, the government decided to reschedule the project, starting afresh from 1932 and
setting to accomplish the goal in 1960.

However, the plan would hamper the development of local industries and failed to meet the military's
expectations because it took too long to be completed. Feeling the need to speed up the implementation, the
government renewed the project and cut the estimated time to 12 years. The project took 16 years and was
completed in 1947.

The renewed reforestation plan is laid out as follows. The government moved the costly coral-stone walls and
stone-made windbreakers to the north, vertical to the direction in which wind blows, while planting satintail and
beach cabbages around them. Besides increasing the number of river tamarinds, the government also planted more

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