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Yilan Management Office

Yilan Management Office

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Canal maintenance and management mechanism

Voluntary Maintenance in Early Agricultural Society

In early agricultural society, local gentry often collaborated with residents to self-fund canal excavations, expanding irrigation systems and increasing agricultural productivity. Numerous examples attest to this practice. Due to the scarcity of irrigation water, beneficiary farmers voluntarily maintained canals to ensure water reached their fields, safeguarding their assets and enhancing their economic livelihoods. This maintenance work not only demonstrated the farmers' diligence in cultivating their crops but also became a measure of their industriousness among their peers.

Social Structure Transformation from 1981 to 2006

As the government implemented its Ten Major Construction Projects, society evolved, blending agriculture, industry, and commerce. This transformation became a defining feature of the era. The government strengthened irrigation associations and increased funding, resulting in the development of organized canal maintenance systems by associations and local farmers. Unpaid labor gradually transitioned to subsidized voluntary work, with local units continuing to assist farmers in maintaining water flow through channels.

Challenges Facing Modernization

Over time, the effectiveness of spontaneous canal maintenance by aging members of irrigation associations declined, largely due to changes in agricultural production structures, such as the prevalence of tenant farming. This increased the burden on irrigation groups to maintain canals, necessitating adjustments to the maintenance mechanism and a reduction in the maintenance tasks of these groups.

Current Response Policies of this Office

This office oversees more than 10,000 irrigation channels, managed by 10 workstations. Each year, maintenance is conducted according to seasonal and channel-specific needs (irrigation or drainage). However, due to the aging of canal management personnel and the transformation of traditional agriculture, maintenance efficiency has struggled to meet public demands. Starting in 2021, this office has gradually transitioned from traditional station-hired weeding to contracted services, aiming to alleviate the workload of workstation teams and better meet the efficiency requirements of modern society.

Contracted Vendor Conducting Weeding Operations in Channels
Progress of Weeding Operations by Contracted Vendor
Last Updated2024/11/05
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