University of Guam agriculture and business students take a group photo outside the Songboling Visitor Center and Tea Culture Theme Pavilion in Nantou County, Taiwan. (Photo courtesy of University of Guam)
A group of agriculture and business students and faculty from the University of Guam got to immerse themselves in Taiwan’s bustling agritourism industry during a study-abroad trip in January. The trip marks the university’s third study-abroad experience to Taiwan since 2022, with this one focusing on agricultural ventures that incorporate tourism and environmental sustainability.
“We got to see, first-hand, a truly broad variety of businesses featuring agricultural products — all of which have developed very innovative and eco-conscious ways of generating revenue,” said Rachael T. Leon Guerrero, dean of the College of Natural & Applied Sciences, which delivers UOG’s bachelor’s program in Agriculture & Life Sciences. “I think it was a very influential trip for our students to see just how extensive careers in agriculture can be and how agricultural operations in Guam could incorporate a tourism element for added revenue.”
Business major Keana Mesubed holds the University of Guam “Big G” on a tour of Tea & Magic Hand, an agritourism business in Taiwan. (University of Guam)
Agritourism invites visitors to engage directly with a farm’s activities, such as picking fruits, enjoying farm-to-table dining experiences, or making a product, while also developing a deeper connection to the land and locally grown food. Nearly 500 agritourism businesses are licensed in Taiwan as of 2020.
“Agritourism is a vital industry in Taiwan,” said Chi-Ming (Allen) Hsieh, one of the participating administrators from National Chung Hsing University, who serves as vice dean of the Office of Research & Development and a professor in the International Bachelor Program of Agribusiness.
The administrators of sister agriculture colleges University of Guam and National Chung Hsing University degree programs. (From left) Kuan-Ju Chen, chair of the Division of Agriculture & Life Sciences at UOG; Rachael T. Leon Guerrero, dean of UOG’s College of Natural & Applied Sciences; Chih-Feng Chen, dean; Shaw-Yhi Hwang, vice dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; and Chi-Ming (Allen) Hsieh, vice dean of the Office of Research & Development, all three with NCHU. (University of Guam)
The government in Taiwan embarked on a rural revitalization strategy in 2018 to address the challenges of an aging population migrating away from rural areas, according to a 2023 research paper of Hsieh’s. He said research has shown that agritourism can increase farm incomes and the likelihood of younger family members carrying on farming as a profession.
Agricultural operations as well as tourist attractions
UOG students Denzyl Ngiralmau, left, and Grace Anne Dela Cruz pick strawberries at You and Me, an agritourism operation in Taiwan. (University of Guam)
Laura Chen, a graduate student in UOG’s SAFNR program, runs her custom-made pineapple cakes through a packaging machine at the Mingquan Ecological Leisure Farm, an agritourism business in Pingtung County, Taiwan. (University of Guam)
The week-long study-abroad trip took UOG’s students and faculty through northern, central, and southern Taiwan touring nearly 20 different agritourism businesses as well as the agricultural labs and facilities of two of UOG’s sister schools: National Pingtung University of Science & Technology and the National Chung Hsing University.
The itinerary included:
orchid gardens that also offered dining attractions and wedding services;
an organic mushroom farm where visitors can make their own mushroom pizza and skin care products;
a ecological leisure farm where visitors can customize and factory-seal their own pineapple cakes;
a cacao “smart farm” that manages the humidity and temperature by mobile apps;
tea growing operations that allow customers to sample teas, create their own tea blends, or enjoy a tea-infused spa experience;
and a fully transparent pork processing facility where visitors can sample different cuts of pork to assess quality and flavor.
Rachael T. Leon Guerrero, dean of the UOG College of Natural & Applied Sciences, and UOG agriculture and business students tour a mushroom production facility and agritourism operation in Changhua County, Taiwan. (University of Guam)
UOG students Chloe Santos and Grace Anne Dela Cruz listen to a tour guide at the Angel Garden Leisure Farm, an educational and recreational agritourism business in Pingtung County, Taiwan. (University of Guam)
UOG students (from left) Chloe Santos, Grace Dela Cruz, and Daisy Kuo make pizzas using freshly picked mushrooms at a mushroom production facility and agritourism operation in Changhua County, Taiwan. (University of Guam)
“Each visit reinforced how innovation and tradition coexist in Taiwan’s agricultural sector,” said UOG business administration major Keana D. Mesubed.
New perspectives and ideas
At the King Car Biotechnology Aquaculture Science Center, an antibiotic and chemical agent–free Pacific white shrimp hatchery, Mesubed said she saw aquaculture from a more modern viewpoint.
UOG business major Keana Mesubed, right, and agriculture major Kaelan Arciaga concoct a cocoa-based lip balm during a tour of the Smart Agriculture Center at the National Pingtung University of Science & Technology campus. (University of Guam)
“As an islander, I am familiar with the importance of seafood, but I had never seen high-tech fish farming before,” Mesubed said. “Learning how A.I. and biotechnology are used to monitor water quality, improve breeding, and ensure sustainability gave me a new perspective on modern aquaculture and its role in food security.”
Agriculture major Vivek LeBouef said the experience has further solidified his desire to research climate-resilient crops and integrated farming systems that are both productive and ecological. He hopes to eventually establish a company in Guam focused on vertical farming techniques and greenhouse construction.
“The workshops and interactive sessions — like making chocolate and assembling mushroom-based skin care products — inspired me to delve into product design and marketing strategies that highlight transparency and sustainability,” he said.
The students who attended were all enrolled this semester in “Agribusiness Management,” an upper-level course taught by Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics Kuan-Ju Chen. For their final course project, the students will use their study abroad experience to develop a comprehensive marketing plan for an agritourism business in Guam. This project challenges students to apply marketing principles, research strategies, and creative solutions to promote sustainable agritourism development locally.
The Taiwan Agritourism Study Abroad experience was jointly funded by a subaward to UOG from the Northern Marianas College’s NextGen grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and through scholarships from the J. Yang & Family Foundation.
