全文檢索
Home>Service> Awardees of Fervent Global Love of Lives Award> 27th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2024> Young Agricultural Entrepreneur - Gong Jhe-Jing
Youth Agriculture Entrepreneur—Gong, Jhe-Jing
【Rebuilding natural farming methods. Turning Taiwan’s new agriculture upside down]
In the fierce shopping mall, there will always be someone smarter than us, and there will always be someone more ruthless than us. There will always be a tiring day running around in the mall, but Yilan is a livable city with good mountains, good water, and good people. It is a place worth me. A great place to spend the rest of your life.—Gong Jhejing

Second generation of Taiwanese businessmen return to their hometown to revolutionize Taiwan's new agriculture
 
Tao Yuanming wrote in "Returning to the Garden and Living in the Fields": "It has been thirty years since I accidentally fell into the dust."

In the current era of rapid urbanization, relatively simple villages have become the yearning of many people.

But how many people can truly put aside the hustle and bustle of the city and go to remote rural areas for development?A second-generation Taiwanese businessman who grew up in a fierce business environment on the other side of the Taiwan Strait chose a different development path from other Taiwanese youth when he grew up and returned to Yilan to work in farming - he is Gong Zhejing.
 
Gong grew up in mainland China and was ambitious from a young age. In the competitive campus environment, he keenly felt the disparity between regions. At the age of 18, he opted for self-study and obtained a degree in Business Administration from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. Taking over his father's business, he began to excel, pioneering breakthroughs such as natural silk wood veneers, diamond-inlaid wood veneers, and peacock feather wood veneer wallpapers. His products are sold to top international hotels in Dubai, Europe, and America.
 
At 19, despite being a novice in agriculture, Gong engaged in natural farming methods, co-managing over 100 acres of land and initially earning less than NT$50,000 annually. By this year, his income has risen to NT$3.3 million.
 
In Yilan, Gong founded "Di", which signifies eternity, to address issues such as the lack of economies of scale in land management, resources for co-farming, exchange of agricultural techniques, and processing resources. He established a sales and production service system, promoting consumer education and educating new farmers to transform established perceptions of agriculture in Taiwan, thereby bringing greater possibilities to Taiwanese agriculture.
 
Therefore, Gong Jhejing bid farewell to the achievements and vanity of being a second-generation Taiwanese entrepreneur, stepping away from the hectic and upside-down schedule. He regained physical, mental, and spiritual health by choosing to leave behind the hustle and bustle of mainland Chinese cities and returning to his hometown in rural Yilan, Taiwan. There, he successfully established a system of natural farming methods. His future goal is to establish a systematic model for "Young Farmer Training," covering everything from selecting varieties, planting, co-farming, to packaging design, providing comprehensive training for aspiring young farmers. He is also planning to launch a YouTube channel, aiming to transform the stereotype that farming can only be a hobby and not a viable livelihood choice, thereby revitalizing natural farming in Taiwan, truly deserving his titile "Young Farmer Entrepreneur," and therefore stood out among 3,499 candidates for the Fervent Global Love of Lives Award, winning the 2024 27th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award awarded by Taiwan's Chou Ta-Kuan Cultural and Educational Foundation.
 
Seeking Life Warriors in 233 Countries Worldwide
 
Everyone unlocks the shackles of life, and everyone's life becomes infinitely broad.
 
For 27 years, they has continuously promoted the " Fervent Global Love of Lives Movement" with the support and encouragement from all walks of life at home and abroad, advocating for loving one's own life, respecting others' lives, and preserving the life of the earth.
 
So far, we have honored 459 Fervent Global Love of Life Medal winners from 79 countries across seven continents, 16 Global Love of Life Literary Creation Award winners such as the benevolent poet Zheng Chouyu and the chef poet Song Chengbao from Mainland China, as well as 41 Hope Medal winners like the anti-drug hero Gao Zhaoliang and the wanderer Ji Dong Wu Shixuan. We also care for and protect over 350,000 of the world's most vulnerable children with cancer, like Mary Donita Uy, an angel with bone cancer from the slums of the Philippines—using love to fight cancer and live out hope.
 
Gratefully acknowledged by CNN, BBC, NHK, Yahoo, YouTube, Facebook, Baidu, and other media, both old and new, for their recognition and resonance, expanding coverage and sharing our story as the "Nobel Prize of Life." We are deeply grateful for the recognition received, including the National Public Welfare Medal in 2001, the Hong Kong Loving Heart Medal in 2010, the Ministry of Education Social Education Contribution Medal in 2018, the Colombian Congress Resolution No. 61 in 2019: awarding the highest commendation medal, the United Nations NGO Organization World Harmony Outstanding Contribution Medal in 2021, and the Chinese mainland Huaxia Filial Piety Cultural Award in 2022. Through these accolades, we share, encourage, and strive together with people around the globe."
 
This year, 24 recipients of the "Fervent Global Love of Lives Award" from among 3,499 nominees worldwide. They excel in various domains of life, such as pioneering maternal love, international acts of kindness, perpetuating the symphony of life, perseverance, creating new possibilities, lifelong dedication to a cause, multifaceted rebirth, writing hope, creating new values, transforming lives, leveraging advantages of disabilities, and aiding the most vulnerable. They dedicate every moment to unlocking life's code and initiating global actions for the common good.
 
Our organization warmly welcomes recommendations for life heroes globally, recognizing efforts, compassion, bravery, and achievements. (Taiwan Chou Ta Kuan Cultural and Educational Foundation Fervent Global Love of Lives Award recommendation hotline: +886-2-29178770, Fax: +886-2-29178768, Address: 3F, No. 52, Mingde Road, Xindian District, New Taipei City 231, Taiwan, Website: http://www.ta.org.tw, Email: ta88ms17@gmail.com).
 
Tired of socializing in shopping malls. Choose to return to his hometown to find his roots
 
Gong, Jhe-Jing was born on April 25, 1995, in Taiwan. His father was involved in the timber business in mainland China, so Gong spent his early years living there with his father. During high school, due to his father's business expansion and transformation, he left his familiar city of Fuzhou and moved to Dongguan, a prominent town for Taiwanese industries.
 
His father nurtured him with great care, hoping that one day Gong would inherit the family business. He intentionally subjected Gong to many hardships, such as not sending him to Taiwanese schools but instead making him walk one hour each day to attend local schools. Growing up with a "Taiwanese compatriot" background, Gong also faced bullying, especially in the competitive school environment, where he keenly felt the disparities between the two regions.
 
Driven by ambition, Gong decided to self-study and obtained a degree in Business Administration from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou at the age of 18. He then began to shine in his father's business, progressing from manufacturing and selling timber products to developing innovative products like natural silk wood veneers, diamond-inlaid wood veneers, and peacock feather wood veneer wallpapers, which he sold to top international hotels in Dubai, Europe, and America.
 
Despite his achievements in the business world, Gong often found himself caught up in social obligations and a hectic, upside-down lifestyle that compromised his health. Feeling disillusioned with this way of life, he began to lose direction and felt confused about the future.
 
One quiet night, after much inner turmoil, Gong made a decisive decision. He bought a one-way ticket back to Taiwan and arrived in Yilan, his mother's hometown, in search of the roots deep within his heart.
 
At the age of 19, when Gong returned to Taiwan, he was alone and unfamiliar with the surroundings. He decided to travel around the island, conducting market surveys while searching for potential investment opportunities.
 
During an industry seminar, a farmer shared an experience: "If you plant one acre of land and leave one-tenth for birds to eat, they won't touch the other nine-tenths."
 
Gong found this claim unrealistic and got into a heated argument with the farmer.
 
The farmer challenged him by saying, "If you don't believe it, come to my field and see for yourself."
 
Gong accepted the challenge, firmly stating, "I will definitely come!"
 
During this seminar, he also met friendly farming partners. One of them chose to sacrifice yield to preserve habitats for birds. At that moment, Gong was deeply puzzled because he lacked understanding of agriculture and the concept of sustainable farming practices.
 
At the time, being kind to others was not easy for him, nor had he ever considered the burden of land. Later, this incident left Gong frequently thinking about, as well as investigating and taking inventory, trying to find some possible opportunities and ways to participate.
 
This opportunity enabled Gong to enter the fields and unexpectedly became his trigger for farming. He began to accept new agricultural information and observe the sustainable farming and industrial development, from food, clothing, and shelter to new business models and cross-industry combinations. He personally experienced the vitality and infinite possibilities of sustainable farming practices.
 
Transitioning from the competitive world of business to the peaceful lands of agriculture
 
Gong stated, "Regardless of the industry, resource inventory and professional improvement are essential." He believed that managing farmland is more challenging than managing a business due to environmental variables like climate and soil, making oversight more complex. Because the challenges of agriculture are greater than those of business, he made a determined decision to choose agriculture as his career.
 
When his father learned that his son wanted to give up his mainland Chinese business and return to Taiwan to become a farmer, he couldn't understand it internally. But out of love for his son, he still expressed willingness to buy land for him to farm and provide financial support. However, Gong, determined to separate from the past, politely declined his father's kindness.
 
With no background in agricultural knowledge, lacking resources and connections, Gong initially used his business training to persuade local farmers in Yilan and contract farmers to support him in managing the land more efficiently and participating in contract farming. In exchange, he secured a 3-hectare field in Yushan for farming.
 
Gong chose Yushan for its direct irrigation from the Snow Mountain range, using pure spring water without mixing with other fields' fertilizers, allowing him to fully implement natural farming methods instead of traditional practices.
 
Self-taught natural farming methods. Build a rice team
 
Gong started his journey into natural farming from the 3-hectare field in Yushan, Yilan. He intensely studied natural farming methods, and in the first year, he didn't earn much income. However, within two to three years, he practiced techniques like seed saving and seedling breeding, completely avoiding the use of any local organic fertilizers or materials like bitter tea cake.
 
"When you start being kind to the land, the land reciprocates," Gong remarked. The rice he planted not only saved on agricultural costs but also yielded impressive harvests each season. His success in practicing natural farming earned him the trust of more landowners, who willingly handed over their lands for him to manage.
 
"Rice farming primarily spans four months a year, leaving the other eight months for pursuing other interests or developing additional ventures," Gong Jhejing observed. He believed that the flexible timing and high level of mechanization in rice cultivation made it easier to achieve economies of scale, attracting "slash youth" (young people with multiple interests) to join the rice planting ranks. Together, they cultivated over ten hectares of land, forming the core team for natural farming practices.
 
During the implementation of natural farming methods, Gong Jhejing applied his background in factory management to meticulously control production processes. For instance, he emphasized the importance of meticulous field preparation: "The field must be plowed very flat, with deep ditches around the perimeter for efficient water inflow and outflow. Regular weeding and frequent irrigation cycles are necessary. Initially, the field is flooded to immerse every seedling. Within 18 days after planting, a rotational irrigation method is used (immediately draining the field after flooding). After 18 days, shallow flooding is implemented to facilitate tillering."
 
Gong stressed the critical task of controlling pests like the golden apple snail: "At this stage, it is crucial to meticulously remove the golden apple snails." Each snail can consume up to 20 clumps of seedlings per day. Normally, there are about 50 snails per square meter. Failing to remove them can lead to significant ecological damage.
 
Therefore, before planting, during initial soil preparation, he meticulously collected snails daily in a basin. Even missing a hundred snail eggs could cause substantial ecological differences later on. Gong emphasized precision at every stage of the process to ensure successful natural farming practices.
 
 
Transforming Agriculture into a Service Industry
 
"Here, I see people dedicated to protecting the land, yet they are oppressed by contract farming. I couldn't bear to see it." During his journey in agriculture, Gong identified the pain points of young farmers, including fragmented land and the inability to afford efficient agricultural machinery, which resulted in a lack of productivity and the inability to establish stable commercial brands.
 
"I returned from China with not a penny, consistently refusing investments and loans, starting from scratch." While it may sound like youthful romanticism to bet without money, with his background in business, Gong actually saw the potential in agriculture. He decided to start with the most time-efficient part of the production system: harvesting. With NT$500,000 in cash, he traveled all over Taiwan and finally found a used harvester, beginning the establishment of his contract farming brand, "Di".
 
He explained that Yuan Mountain is the source of water in the Yilan area, and his self-cultivated fields are located at the source of Yuan Mountain, surrounded by mountains, water, and soil, so he called it "Di".
 
In less than five years, Di has provided contract farming services on over a hundred acres of land in Yilan and served 200 friendly agricultural partners. The Di team has gradually purchased other agricultural machinery and toured Taiwan during the spring farming season, offering more cultivation services to friendly farmers practicing natural farming methods.
 
The Di team has grown from one person to fifty, with a fully integrated platform ecosystem including advanced transplanters, harvesters, field cultivators, rice mills, transportation, warehousing, processing, and marketing partners.
 
Gong feels that rather than simply "doing agriculture," he is more like "running a service industry." In terms of contract farming, they have operated not only in Yilan but also in Gongliao, New Taipei City, and Luye, Taitung, among other areas. Furthermore, from quality selection to planting, contract farming, and packaging design, the Di team provides advice and assistance across the board.
 
In field operations, Gong is meticulous. He instructs new farmers on basic tasks such as digging ditches, managing irrigation, field leveling, weeding, and collecting snails, stressing the importance of precision. He also personally inspects crop growth and monitors field water levels daily for older farmers.
 
Gong laughs, saying, "More than half of my year is spent tending to other people's fields and sharing ideas and planting techniques." To others, this demonstrates his background in industrial management, where time and operational management skills are essential.
 
 
 
Spreading Seeds for Taiwanese Agriculture
 
As the production team matures, the Di brand team is transitioning into a social enterprise focused on "promoting consumer education and educating new farmers." Through continuous experimentation and interdisciplinary collaborations, they aim to challenge existing perceptions of agriculture and open up more possibilities for Taiwan's agricultural sector.
 
Gong's goal is to establish a systematic model for "young farmer training," covering everything from variety selection, cultivation, farming services to packaging and design. They aim to provide comprehensive training for aspiring young farmers. Additionally, they plan to launch a YouTube channel to shift from passive to active promotion, enhancing the spread and accuracy of their message while maintaining continuity and openness, thus "normalizing agriculture."
 
"Normalizing agriculture" involves changing stereotypes held by older generations that rural farming is the only option for young people without a future in cities. It also aims to dispel misconceptions among the youth that farming can't be both a passion and a viable career. The goal is to attract more young farmers back to rural areas.
 
Gong has a deep emotional connection to the land. Reflecting on his journey, he says, "People on the mainland are smarter than us, and more ruthless than us. When I returned six years ago, I realized that only people and land are something they can't take away. That's why I'm so determined to farm."
 
In recent years, the D brand team has joined forces with the "Lanyang River Friendly Farming Production Cooperative" and cooperated with friendly young farmer Wu Shaowen's "Yiliang Hao." The Di brand team is responsible for agricultural production tasks, the Lanyang River Friendly Farming Production Cooperative handles crop marketing, and Yiliang Hao assists with processing, marketing, and product development. Each plays a distinct role in ensuring that every link from the farm to the table is overseen for consumers.
 
Rooted in the Fields: Pragmatism and Romance
 
Recalling his days in mainland China, Gong would have been skeptical if someone had proposed unconditional friendship. It was only upon returning to Taiwan that he discovered the genuine nature of Taiwanese people. Initially uncomfortable with this, now he says, "Taiwanese are so lovable!"
 
On July 10, 2018, Typhoon Maria struck. Gong disregarded his family history of inherited heart disease and worked tirelessly for 36 consecutive hours to harvest rice for his farmer friends. He set aside his own fields and harvest to safeguard the hard work of every partner.
 
Initially driven by a desire to prove himself through natural farming, Gong's operation has grown larger. Along the way, what sustains him is a pragmatic yet romantic aspiration.
 
Despite carrying the aura from his previous experience in business circles, Gong refuses to be categorized as a top young farmer, refuses loans and subsidies, and rejects being confined by frameworks. He remains focused on his own path. However, when discussing natural farming, his softer side undoubtedly shines through.
 
Confidently, Gong Jhejing declares, "My goal for the next five years is to showcase Taiwan's agriculture to the world, reasserting the values that belong to the local people and Taiwan."