Indonesia: Farmers thankful for Taiwanese assistance
Mission head Wu Chiung-feng (吳炯鋒) said the mission has helped farmers in Bali grow asparagus year round under the one village one product (OVOP) program of Taiwan's International Cooperation and Development Fund.
Through the program, Bali farmers have sold US$523,850 worth of asparagus and vegetables, with US$306,024 in sales of asparagus alone, helping improve their lives, Wu said.
This "asparagus miracle" in Bali has often been reported in the Indonesian media and earned the appreciation of local formers.
Ketut Suriani, a member of the asparagus cooperative in Pelaga village, expressed her gratitude for Taiwan's assistance, saying that her asparagus harvest has improved her economic situation.
Cooperative secretary I Nyoman Sudarta said village schoolchildren often describe the technician sent by Taiwan to work on the project -- Su Tien-chi(蘇天集) -- as an "asparagus god."
He said villagers were previously only able to buy rice with the earnings from their crops but can now afford clothes and even textbooks for their children with the extra money they're making from their asparagus.
Source: focustaiwan.tw
