Farmers work independently and individually in traditional farming. In the past, most farmers depended on the weather to earn their living for themselves. Even today many farms in Taiwan are operated on a small scale farm, meaning that the cost of production and marketing is relatively expensive. With Taiwan's agriculture faced the trade liberalization, independent farmers will not be able to survive against competition from advanced, large-scale farming in Europe and North America. Thus, the Council of Agriculture has organized Agriculture Production and Marketing Groups for farmers with similar operations. Combining farmers from multiple small farms gives them the potential to go up against large-scale farms as united groups. The Council implemented the 'Regulations for Establishing Agriculture Production & Marketing Groups' to assist group members regarding organizing with corporate management, information systems, systematization and improving competitiveness, so that they can expand their management scale. At the same time, the Council has assisted member farmers to operate in a quality-focused style and be core team members in agricultural strategic alliances. The Agriculture Production and Marketing Group has successfully established organizational management, marketed products, developed organic farming, promoted a 'food traceability' system, focused on food hygiene and raised members¡¦ overall income.

Members of the Agriculture Production and Marketing Groups are currently categorized as follows:

Agricultural products: vegetables, fruit, flowers and plants, grains, rice, special crops and mushrooms.
Livestock: pigs, cows, deer, sheep, rabbits, chicken (for meat or producing eggs), ducks, turkeys and ostriches.
Fishery: aquaculture farms, specialized fisheries.
Others: recreational farming, bee tending and other authorized industries.

To be a member of the Agriculture Production and Marketing Group, applicants must be aged 18 or more. Groups are formed among farmers in one area or farmers with similar industry/production. One farmer is allowed to participate in only one group.

The production and marketing group invites experts to instruct and collaborate with members so that members can acquire knowledge of corporate management, information systems and systematization. Together, they are all encouraged to innovate management style, thus improving overall agricultural competitiveness. Since 2005 there have been regular selections of outstanding agriculture production and marketing groups. In 2007, in response to the government's "New Taiwan Agriculture Movement - Classic Series"), the agency held a contest to choose the "Top Ten Agriculture Production and Marketing Groups" to attract higher participation from more groups. The selections were made at four levels: township, county/city, region and nationwide. This was a top-to-bottom way to select 30 groups from 6,200 contestants in the nationwide selection. Then the Council of Agriculture invited scholars and experts to form a selection commission to select the top ten in strict, open and fair ways.

The 2007 awards for the top ten agriculture production and marketing groups were:

• The 15th Session of the Vegetable Production and Marketing Group , Dayuan Township, Taoyuan County.
• The 4th Session of the Rice Crop Production and Marketing Group, Yuanli Township, Miaoli County.
• The 4th Session of the Flowers/plants Production and Marketing Group, Taichung City.
• The 1st Session of the Pig Production and Marketing Group, Tianwei Townhsip, Changhua County.
• The 1st Session of the Pig Production and Marketing Group, Tianwei Townhsip, Changhua County.
• The 30th Session of the Fruit Production and Marketing Group, Yujing Township, Tainan County.
• The 1st session of the Bee Breeding Production and Marketing Group, Gangshan Township, Kaohsiung County.
• The 50th Session of the Fruit Production and Marketing Group, Gaoshu Township, Pingtung County.
• The 1st Session of the Fruit Production and Marketing Group, Yuli Township, Hualien County.
• The 1st Session of the Pig Production and Marketing Group, Guanshan Township, Taitung County.

This selection of top agriculture production and marketing groups is presented to demonstrate the outstanding performance of farmers who have put considerable effort into the development of agriculture. Through their learning in organizational management, leadership, quality assurance, technical development and innovative management, the public can understand the operation and production progress that has been made by these production and marketing groups. This is particularly true for the members of the selected top ten, many of whom spend as much time and effort as possible in learning new techniques, participating in various training sessions and seminars, and constantly discussing the upgrade of products and exploration of markets. They have set themselves up as honored examples for other groups. The Agriculture Production and Marketing Group is an important part of this project to innovate the agricultural sector. Anyone who interested in this program, please refer to the "Agriculture Production and Marketing Group Organization and Data Service System" at http://agrapp.coa.gov.tw/agr-Sed/agrJsp/Login.html for more information or to download an application form.