A delegation of young Taiwanese farmers has visited Malaysia to promote Agri-food education. They shared the concept of special bugs, know as “three black tools of the field” (田間黑三寶), which help reduce the use of chemical pesticides and boost crop yields.

The delegation recently visited Chinese-speaking primary schools and farmers’ groups in Klang and Sekinchan in Selangor, as well as Bentong in Pahang. They talked about Agri-food education, organic rice, and the use of rice flour in Taiwan. Farmers from both sides also exchanged agricultural techniques and industry development.

Lu Quan-xin (呂全鑫), a member of the delegation, explained that Taiwan recently integrated the concept of biological control of the Black rice bug, Egg parasitoid, and Metarhizium anisopliae into “the three black tools of the field”. The Egg parasitoids parasitize the eggs of the Black rice bugs, as the bugs are common pests in the rice fields. On the other hand, Metarhizium anisopliae can infect the pests and inhibit their reproduction to reduce the use of chemical pesticides.

Fan Zhi-xi (范植皙), one of Taiwan's 2024 Top-100 Young Farmers, stated that though rice production in Malaysia takes advantage of intact land and fewer typhoons, there is still room for further development in pesticide management, field digital monitoring technology, and agricultural knowledge dissemination. Looking ahead, Taiwan can continue to deepen cooperation in smart agriculture with Malaysia.