TAIPEI (Taiwan News) —  Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Li-shan (張麗善) announced on Thursday (Oct. 17) that the three-day Yunlin International Agricultural Machinery and Materials Exhibition will open on Saturday, according to a CNA report.

The exhibition is set to take place at Huwei HSR Station District. It will include 1,200 stalls that show off agricultural technologies, cost-saving and labor-reducing agricultural machinery.

Exhibitors will display a range of new farming machinery, from spreader drones to tractors. Also, on view are smart systems for monitoring room temperatures and driverless mowers, which incorporate artificial intelligence (AI), the CNA report said.

Chang Li-shan said that although Yunlin is an agricultural county, young people are not choosing to pursue a traditional farming lifestyle. This has led to the problem of an aging demographic of farmers and labor shortages.

New farming technologies and equipment are seen as a way of appealing to younger generations. It helps them realize that farming today is not just hard labor and encourages them to become part of the agricultural community.

Taiwan Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Association (TAMMA) Chairman Yang Jian-sheng (楊建生) said many vendors offered price discounts at last year’s event. This resulted in on-site transactions reaching over NT$50 million (US$1.6 million).

This year Yunlin County Government and TAMMA have invited more international buyers to visit the show. The hope is that this will generate an even higher volume of transactions, according to the report.

To add to the merriment, the Huwei Towel Festival will be held alongside the agricultural machinery exhibition, with more than 40 towel manufacturers represented. Members of the public are welcome to join the fun, from Oct. 19-20.

In addition, the news agency reported, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is scheduled to visit on Saturday afternoon.