Once revered in the 60s-90s for rapid industrialization and growth, Taiwan has taken a backseat to other nations as its economy stabilized. However, seeds sown in the past are ripe for harvest. Taiwan is also famed for its semiconductors, strategic location and technology know-how, all of which are important ingredients in agricultural development.

COVID-19 has propelled food security, sustainability and climate change to the forefront. But if Taiwan is primed for surprising us again in its own way, there are still few Taiwanese startups that are rising to the challenge.

When Future Food Asia embarked on the mission to build a community of agrifoodtech talents in the region, we looked for hubs that had a strong start-up ecosystem. Unsurprisingly the investors and entrepreneurs we spoke to in Taipei, Taichung, Kaoshiung and Hsinchu thought of agrifoodtech as being a very niche sector, which is no different from all the countries we had visited. But Taiwan masters all the foundational technologies in place such as IOT, robotics, drones, semiconductors as well as a reputed biotech sector. And all this is notoriously conducive to agrifoodtech innovations. With these building blocks in place, what are the triggers to see agrifoodtech blossom in Taiwan?

Taiwan-based HaoShi Foundation, a FFA2021 Partner, remains hopeful. The organization focuses on fostering agrifood startups growth through innovative approaches with international perspective. As the Foundation’s CEO Chen Mao Chia expressed: “With Taiwan’s strengths in technology, the agrifood industry has the potential to carry out rapid & large scale changes from farm to fork. Also, the global COVID-19 pandemic has altered lifestyles, thereby changing consumers’ behaviors & accelerating innovation in the agri food industry. We anticipate Taiwanese entrepreneurs to use ICT capabilities to develop innovative services and products for farmers that would address the current needs of consumers“.

In an FFA exclusive panel we will investigate “Agrifoodtech, the Taiwan Way” and how to catalyze the ecosystem. Join the Future Food Asia 2021 Conference to hear our distinguished speakers Dr. Hsu Tin Chen and Ryan Yang as they explore with the support of FFA stalwart Eugene Wang how startups can tap on Taiwan’s strengths, share their learnings from Silicon Valley and opine on what governments can do better to nurture startups in their journey.