To make matters more difficult, farmers also have to deal with monkeys that invade and steal crops.
Bamboo or sugarcane is a basic raw material in Taiwan, and many residents depend on it for their livelihood.
Generations of Tzu have lived off the bamboo forests in Alishan town, which Avayi Vaiyana says were planted by his ancestors, and are usually harvested in April and May.
Rains from February to April are essential for the growth of bamboo, but since late last year, there have been no heavy rains, raising questions about the impact of climate change and drought on the region’s most important agriculture.
The Tzu tribe, with a population of 7,000 in Alishan, has seen a steady decline in their bamboo shoot harvest.
To make matters more difficult, farmers also have to deal with monkeys that invade and steal crops.
“Because many of the surrounding bamboo forests have died, and now where there are bamboo shoots, the monkeys will eat them,” says Vaiyani.
Water levels in the Tsingwen Reservoir that serves the southern regions of Tainan and Chiayi have fallen to less than 10 percent this year, the third such drop since 2018, leaving the reservoir layers cracked and exposed.
The reservoir is a major water source and also irrigates the area’s rice-growing plains.
