engineering, and data processing firms in Taiwan. Vertical farms in Taiwan primarily compete with imported produce and focus on producing premium vegetables as their products remain more expensive than those from Taiwan's traditional farms. Recently, the government has introduced new policy to reactivate all of the remaining idle farmland to ensure food security, food self-sufficiency and to revitalize the agriculture sectors. Policies to develop the sector to be more competitive, modern and green were also introduced. This has led to a large number of urban youth taking up farming. Since 2009 the Agriculture Council has subsidized education and training for new farmers, most of whom already hold advanced degrees. In 2020 the Taiwanese government's Council of Agriculture set aside NT$5 billion (US$166.21 million) in loans for produce, livestock and aquaculture operations as well as other agriculture-based enterprises effected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The loans are at a preferential rate of 0.79 percent to 1.68 percent. In 2021 the Taiwanese government began incentivizing rice farmers to diversify their production beyond the staple crop. Government Agriculture-related affairs in Taiwan are handled by Council of Agriculture (COA), headed by Minister Chen Chi-chung, and its division Agriculture and Food Agency. Taiwan houses the headquarter of the World Vegetable Center. Taiwan is also a member of world organizations related to agriculture, such as Afro-Asian Rural Development Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and World Trade Organization. Produce In 2013, there are four main agricultural produce sectors in Taiwan, which are plant crops (47.88%), livestock (31.16%), fishery (20.87%) and forest (0.09%). The total annual agriculture produce production is around 6.9 million tons. Rice In 2013, Taiwan harvested more than 1.6 million tons of rice yield from 2,703 km2 of land with a total value of NT$36.9 billion. It is the most valuable cash crop in Taiwan. The quality of Taiwanese rice is extremely high. Before the Japanese colonial period most rice grown in Taiwan was long-grained Indica rice, the Japanese introduced short-grained Japonica which quickly changed both the farming and eating patterns of the Taiwanese. Betel nuts In 2001, Taiwan harvested 165 thousand tonnes of betel nuts from more than 500 km2 of land, the second most valuable cash crop after rice. Cocoa Cocoa cultivation on Taiwan began during the Japanese period but support ended after WWII. The next wave of cultivation occurred in the 1970s but petered out because