On March 23rd, Magistrate Li Jinyong visited the Floriculture Research Center (FRC) located in Gukeng, a research unit from the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, to establish a relationship with the research center in order to enhance Yunlin’s agriculture and tourism aptitudes. In addition to understanding the research and development processes of the variety of beautiful flowers cultivated and bred at the research center, the county government strives to combine the resources of the FRC with the county’s agricultural techniques and tourism industry, hoping to elevate the county’s competitiveness.
Magistrate Li Jinyong said, having the only flower research center in Taiwan located in Yunlin is a great honor. On top of the flower breeding and planting missions conducted by the FRC, the county government hopes the FRC can also use their resources to collaborate with the county government to further develop local popular tourist locations. In particular, assisting in the promotion of the Yunlin Triple/Mountain Travel (Yun You “3” Lin) project, Gukeng’s Green Tunnel and special agricultural festivals, so that travelers who visit Yunlin can also enjoy seeing a variety of beautiful vibrant flowers. Additionally, it is aspired that the skills acquired from cultivating many unique varieties of flowers by the FRC can be permitted to be shared with the county’s farmers to adopt, giving Yunlin’s agriculture an opportunity to further flourish.
FRC Director Xie Tingfang said that the FRC is a national research institution, but as the organization is located in Yunlin, there is also a desire to assist local industries and people. Looking forward, the FRC expect to collaborate with Yunlin Tourism’s capabilities to create unique tourist highlights in Yunlin. Furthermore, the FRC will share their research with Yunlin flower farmers, so that the local agriculture can be more competitive.
The Agricultural Research Institute of the Executive Yuan Agricultural Council conforms with the agricultural policy of strengthening domestic flower science and technology research and development. Originally a sugar factory, Executive Yuan Agricultural Council purchased the land and began constructing the FRC in the year 1998. The FRC covers an area of 21 hectares and is the only research center in Taiwan dedicated to flower research and development in Moth Orchids, Dancing-lady Orchids, Laceleaf, and Amaryllis. All research and development have presented flourishing results.