Residents and farmers from Changhua in central Taiwan are protesting a government plan to turn state-owned farmland into fields of solar panels.
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00:00Rural fields in central Taiwan's Changhua County, soon to be transformed.
00:06Taiwan's government wants to turn hundreds of hectares of state-owned farmland here into solar farms.
00:12But tenant farmers and residents here are protesting the plan,
00:16worried about the impact on their crops, their livelihoods, and their homes.
00:30Of the 1,100 state-owned farms in the area, 600 of them have already given consent to build solar panels.
00:38The master plan is part of Taiwan's push to generate 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by next year.
00:46But it means farmers can no longer rent out their fertile lands for livestock or produce.
00:51Local leaders are asking why the country's energy issues are being prioritized over agriculture.
01:00In response to the criticism, Taiwan's government says farmers can simply refuse to give permission to energy companies to build there.
01:30Local leaders and farmers hope they can put a stop to the plan to maintain their farms, livelihoods, and homes.
01:37Chris Monhorel-Hughes for Taiwan Plus.