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Banana Seedlings Princess - Female Young Farmers Prop Up the Seedling Industry

Banana Seedlings Princess - Female Young Farmers Prop Up the Seedling Industry

Yang Chia-Tzu who won a good reputation of "banana princess" among farmers, stepped into seedling industry after graduation. She founded a seedling company with her young schoolmate to produce healthy banana seedlings. In 2017, she was selected as the 4th ‘Top 100 Young Farmers’ of the Council of   Agriculture and Taiwan Seed Improvement and Propagation Station (TSIPS) served as an counselor to give guidance and accompany her for 2 years.

TSIPS mentioned that, cultivating young farmers is an important policy of the Council of Agriculture. Through the young farmers’ counseling programs, young farmers are assisted to improve their professional knowledge and ability. They are encouraged to share what they have learned. It is hoped to engage more young people in agriculture and attract them back to their hometown.

TSIPS mentioned that, during the ‘Accompanying counseling’ period, TSIPS assisted Mrs. Yang to obtaining land, facility subsidies and to design the production process. She set up tissue culture rooms and acclimatization greenhouses and introduced aseptic production process and the intelligent bottle-seedling management system. Chia-Tzu also applied what she had learned to combine

the concept of plant vaccines with tissue culture. Healthy, high-quality mother-stock plants was chosen for asexual reproduction via tissue culture. At the same time, seedlings were also inoculated with beneficial microorganisms at different growth stages. These all help the seedlings maintain excellent traits and more resistant to disease infection after being planted in the field. After receiving the 2-years counsel of the TSIPS, her company successfully achieved an annual output of about 1.2 million plants and produced healthy and strong seedlings of strawberries, papaya, and bananas.

Chia-Tzu knows about plant diseases and insect pests, and she keeps regularly personally confirming the adaptability of seedlings in the field, assisting in field diagnosis, providing cultivation management consultation, even using LINE to respond to farmers immediately. The caring service of Chia-Tzu passed by word of mouth among farmers which has earned her a reputation of "banana princess".

TSIPS said that, although the counseling has come to the end, they will give continuous attention to Mrs. Yang to help her to obtain the three classes certification of healthy seedlings to ensure that each seedling meets high neatness, high pure, and high quality. It will let people know how devoted she is.

 

Her nursery also are equipped with research equipment.
Her nursery also are equipped with research equipment.

Seedling cultivation situation in the nursery.
Seedling cultivation situation in the nursery.

Chia-Tzu with her healthy seedlings of bananas, papaya, and strawberries
Chia-Tzu with her healthy seedlings of bananas, papaya, and strawberries

Chia-Tzu was awarded the Best Potential Award in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
Chia-Tzu was awarded the Best Potential Award in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.