VIDEO: Farmers prepare for Typhoon Saola to minimize losses

September is the start of the pomelo season here in Taiwan and while the sight of farmers harvesting pomelos is not unfamiliar, the speed, frenzy, and increase in the number of pickers is.

Concerned that crops will be damaged by approaching typhoon Saola, farmers in Ruisui Township, Hualien and Taiyuan Valley, Taitung have increased the number of workers so as to quickly harvest, package, and ship pomelos out before the strong winds and heavy rains hit the island.

Vegetable farmers in Yunlin also join the rush to ensure their hard work does not go to waste. Bundles of water spinach, green onions and all sorts of leafy greens are also being prepared for transport.

It isn’t only fruit and vegetable farmers that are worried about potential losses. In Chiayi, one can see boats coming into port one after the other, all of them overflowing with baskets of oysters. Oyster farmers, who have been up since the crack of dawn, are diligently transporting their oysters to minimize the impact of the typhoon to their livelihoods.

Farmers and fishermen depend on the weather for their living and they have done all that they can to prepare for the typhoon. Hopefully, Typhoon Saola will not cause too much damage as it passes Taiwan.