英文摘要 |
Since the introduction of the 4-H Club from the US, greatly contributed to the agricultural modernization and professional training of the young farmers in Taiwan. It has ambitiously and steady undertaken manifold projects to assist young farmers in variant stages of agricultural development. Due to challenges of agricultural development varied in different stages, the precedent studies of the 4-H Club largely focus on its agronomical contribution, but rarely examine the developmental history of the organization. In recent years, historians gradually produce studies of the organization, mainly from the mid-1960s to the year American Aid programs ended. However, its development afterwards has not been studied. Nonetheless, the critical period of industrialization in Taiwan happened right after the end of American Aid programs. A large number of young farmers migrated to the cities. The labor force shortage in the agricultural regions slowly aggravated, and agricultural mechanization became an urgent issue in the 1970s. As the founding purpose of the 4-H Club was to cope with the agricultural labor force shortage in the US, its expertise could then lend insights to the agricultural development in Taiwan in the 1970s. This study thereby focuses on the 4-H Club's strategies against the labor force shortage in the 1970s. Since the precedent studies often focus on the governmental policies, this paper examines their implementation and effects in the local areas, mainly through the archives that have been newly acquired from the Xingang Farmers' Association. This study discovers that the local offices of the 4-H Club functioned under the instructions of the authoritative policies in the 1970s, as promotion instruments of these agricultural policies. It did not often vocalize the local young farmers' demands. In other words, the 4-H Club functioned more as an implemental agency of the government than a local community-based organization. finally although these policies could not effectively resolve the shortage problem, they did slow down the migration process and simultaneously brought in agricultural mechanization. |