As a result of changes in climate and the social environment, it became necessary to reorganize the irrigation associations.
Regarding media reports today (10th) on the reorganization of the irrigation associations, the content lacks balance and the Irrigation Agency, Council of Agriculture under the Executive Yuan sought to clarify the situation. On 2020/10/1, the irrigation associations were reorganized and went from being public legal entities to a government agency. Due to changes in the social environment, the irrigation associations (hereinafter referred to as associations) had been unable to fully perform the functions of a public legal entity. In response to climate change, the government has directly coordinated and planned irrigation construction and management of agricultural water resources, and handled droughts and floods in a timely manner, in order to meet the country's overall interests; at the same time, it has also brought consistency to the handling of irrigation water pollution cases, protecting irrigation water quality and ensuring national food security. In addition, the government transcends the limitations of the original irrigation associations in terms of its ability to improve the efficiency of water resources utilization in irrigation areas, saving irrigation water sources for suitable agricultural land outside irrigation areas, and sharing the nation’s limited water resources by treating farmers inside and outside irrigation areas fairly and reasonably.
Funding for irrigation constructions has increased year by year, while agricultural water rights have remained unchanged, and administrative efficiency has greatly improved
The Irrigation Agency further explained that after irrigation associations were reorganized, their assets were used to set up irrigation work operation funds, earmarked for irrigation works. These started with NT$4.1 billion in 2021, increased to NT$5.2 billion in 2022, and are expected to increase further to NT$7 billion in 2023. After reorganization, in terms of agricultural irrigation water, the original water rights of the irrigation associations are managed by various management offices and will continue to serve farmers. According to the Irrigation Act, the use of agricultural water rights takes precedence over industrial water rights, without sacrificing farmers' water rights. Faced with last year's once-in-a-century drought, the government's effective management of water sources and response to severe drought conditions, ensured 236,000 hectares of land were still irrigated and harvested. As for 74,000 hectares of farmland without irrigation, more than 90 % of the farmers received irrigation suspension compensation within one month, compared with the six months it previously took to pay compensation for the suspension of irrigation. The improvement in administrative efficiency post-reorganization has been widely praised by farmers.
Ending privilege, open tenders, continued water canal dredging work and strengthening water quality protections
In terms of irrigation disaster prevention, canals have to be dredged and canal gates checked before flood season to ensure they are unobstructed and functioning properly. As open-ended contracts have been signed through open tenders, operators can be required to deal with issues whenever necessary. In 2022, 85,000 cubic meters were dredged. At the same time, each management office has also established open contracts through open tenders to ensure disaster emergencies are dealt with immediately. In terms of the operation of the irrigation team, after reorganization irrigation team leaders assisted Irrigation Agency management offices by patrolling and cleaning up water canals, coordinating water distribution and other matters. In terms of irrigation water quality protection, the Irrigation Act empowers the Irrigation Agency to conduct irrigation water quality inspections and impose penalties. It has established a legal management framework for irrigation water quality and obtained international certification for water quality laboratories to ensure the credibility of test results. At the same time, the agency conducts cross-regional cooperation with relevant central and local governments agencies and proactive inspections to effectively eliminate pollution.
Farmers outside the irrigation area of the original irrigation association continue to enjoy irrigation services
During the Irrigation Association period, half of Taiwan's farmland did not receive irrigation services. The reorganized Irrigation Agency completed 27 irrigation constructions within one year and nine months, providing 32,000 hectares of farmland with a steady supply of irrigation water. More than 40,000 farmers no longer suffer from water shortages, which had proved impossible for decades under the irrigation association system. In the future, the Irrigation Agency will continue to expand irrigation services and expects to service 88,000 hectares by 2025.
Reorganization has improved efficiency and efforts will be made to continue to deepen the reform
The Irrigation Agency notes that given the new challenges brought by the current social environment and future climate changes, the irrigation public legal entity was no longer capable of solving a range of complex and diverse problems. After reorganization, as public agencies, the state can directly integrate cross-departmental resources to deal with increasingly complex and difficult issues such as irrigation water source planning, regulating, water quality, disaster prevention and contingency plans, and creating new value across domains. After reorganization, the Irrigation Agency is one element in overall government policy and can be supervised by elected officials and even the public. The Irrigation Agency is fully dedicated to implementing a wide range of irrigation work, and has been more proactive in meeting farmers' water needs. In the 21 months since the irrigation associations were reorganized as the Irrigation Agency the results of various reforms have become increasingly apparent. In the future, reforms will continue and it is hoped all sectors will continue to support the reorganization of irrigation work.