WHEN going to Kaohsiung City in southern Taiwan, an amazing and very interesting place to visit is the city’s Vegetables and Fruits Wholesale Market.
The market complex which is massive but well organized is a place where to find nearly all sorts and varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables.
This is where where wholesalers as well as retail shoppers regularly converge to buy different varieties of vegetables and fruits that are imaginable.
It can be noted that about half of Taiwan is located below the Tropic of Cancer, which makes subtropical fruits to be abundant.
Aside from fresh fruits and vegetables, different varieties of grains, dried vegetable and fruit products, and other related produce are readily available at the Kaohsiung Vegetables and Fruits Wholesale Market which opens even as early as 3:00 a.m.
Due to its remarkable clean environment, sufficient and abundant lighting system, and practical layout design, together with its spacious pathways, buying and scouting for the required produce can become comfortable and almost hassle-free.
Unlike the other public markets in highly urbanized areas, the market vendors in Kaohsiung are very accommodating, and food safety conscious.
Primarily because the massive wholesale market is supervised and supported by the local government, which can help the stakeholders in the fruit and vegetable industry of Kaohsiung to find new opportunities, business partnerships, and even solutions to marketing aspects.
Incidentally, Kaohsiung is one of the most disciplined and cleanest cities which I have visited so far.
One cannot notice any form of garbage lying along the streets, unlike in many urban areas of the Philippines where trash are literally thrown around.
I have personally observed that every morning, a garbage truck would usually park at a designated area where residents will bring their trash.
The garbage truck driver together with a helper or aide will just have to wait and the residents are the ones tossing their packed garbage into the designated compartment of the vehicle.
Aside from advocating a disciplined nation, the government of Taiwan saw the promotion of leisure farms as a means to help the small farmers to become even more profitable by making them entrepreneurial.
These farmers will not just produce different crops or farm animals for selling but they also undertake many other things that would provide them with more income.
These include attractions to lure visitors, particularly from urban areas, who would like to experience rural life coupled with good food, fun, fresh air, relaxation, and more.
In most parts of Taiwan, leisure farms offer a variety of attractions, depending on their locations and the particular interests of the owners or operators.
In the different leisure farms we visited, there is a strong focus on the environment.
Most of them plant a lot of trees within their projects, and they shun the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers in growing their crops.
These leisure farms may have different specializations but they have certain things in common – protecting the environment and they are all advocates of environmental conservation./PN
