The key to continuously expanding sorghum contract farming acreage lies in ensuring a stable supply of high-quality seeds. TSIPS has accumulated experience in seed sorghum production and processing, serving as a solid foundation for the supply of domestic grain seeds. Prior to the autumn planting season in 2023, TSIPS visited the seed sorghum fields to observe the growth conditions in Syuejia District (Figure 1). With the consent of the Syuejia Farmers' Association, TSIPS proposed a public-private partnership approach for seed harvesting (Figure 2). TSIPS dispatched personnel and provided mobile drying trailers to the site. Once the seed spikes were dried and threshed, seeds were sent to TSIPS for further selection and grading and certified seeds with a germination rate of 92% were produced. This public-private collaboration model effectively met the demand of sorghum seeds for 1,500 ha farming acreage in 2024, demonstrating the success of a shared prosperity approach between the public sector and producers.

▲Fig. 1 In 2023, the Tainan City Xuejia District Farmers' Association's seed harvesting area had good fertility, and bird protection nets were set up to avoid bird damage.

▲Fig. 2 The mature seeds of sorghum Tainan No. 8 are huge and plump.