臺灣有機農業的發展及其限制：一個技術轉變簡史

The Development of Organic Farming in Taiwan: A History of Scientific Paradigm Shifts

本文透過討論臺灣農業發展所經歷的三個明顯變化階段，及其所隱含的歐美農業科學典範轉變（scientific paradigms shift），來看臺灣近20多年來有機農業發展的限制。這三個階段分別為：1）西元1895年以前以地方本土知識（local or indigenous knowledge）為基礎的自然農法；2）西元1895年至1986年科學主義（scientism）導向的精耕小農制；3）1986年後環境保護主義（nvironmentalism）影響下的有機農業（organic farming）發展。從這些變化過程，我們可以梳理出隱藏在臺灣社會發展背後複雜的社會與政治因素。更重要的是，我們可由此看出這種科學典範轉變的主要動力，並非受到本地社會發展的需求，或本地科學界實作或理論的突破性發現所影響，而是以歐美為主的全球化核心地區（global nucleated centers）橫向移植而來的整套理論、觀念與實作。這種技術的轉變與社會現實的脫節，在結構面上可能說明何以當前臺灣的有機農業發展，面臨諸多困難。最後，本文並以臺灣田野調查的實例，具體說明有機農業在結構面與社會關係上的發展困難。

This paper uses scientific paradigm shift in Taiwan as the vantage point to understand its current development in organic farming and associated problems. The three distinct evolutionary stages of Taiwanese agriculture can be summarized as: 1) The pre-1895 natural farming regime that largely relied on local or indigenous knowledge systems; 2) The 1895- 1986 period characterized by small-scale, intensive farming under the herald of scientism; and 3) The post-1986 rise of organic farming under the influence of global environmentalism. These paradigm shifts unravel the complex social and political discourses underpinning Taiwan’s contorted history. Even more importantly, however, this paper argues that the main impetus of these paradigm shifts did not originate from local social needs or in response to practices or theoretical developments engineered by local scientific communities. Rather, all changes were results of gross transplanting of worldviews, ideas and practices developed in global nucleated centers of North American, Europe and Japan. The significant discrepancy between Taiwan’s dominant scientific paradigms and practical societal needs can explain why the development of organic farming in Taiwan faces seemingly insurmountable structural difficulties.