臺灣丘陵區檳榔業的發展與空間政治－以嘉義縣四鄉為例

Abstract

嘉義丘陵區因地形崎嶇多山、工商業發展不佳、水利設施發展不易，以及在清代為漢人與原住民族生活領域的邊緣地帶，再加上作為農業區面臨農產品價格不穩定、勞動力老化等諸多瓶頸，因此在臺灣是一邊陲性顯著的地區。嘉義丘陵區四鄉頗具特色，並見證臺灣檳榔業的興衰發展，其特色展現於檳榔生產專業化、業者具高度空間移動能力，以及檳榔已轉化為在地認同的符號。 多元尺度影響檳榔業的發展，尤其國家的反檳政策衝擊檳榔業，而在地檳榔業卻能改變嘉義丘陵區邊陲性的命運，國家與在地尺度間的利益衝突進而引發尺度政治。檳榔業發展的歷程，交雜了多面向論述，官方反檳論述包含環境衛生、政治經濟、國民健康、水土保持、境外走私與全球環境主義，地方則將檳榔視為社會文化禮俗與地方認同的媒介，產業與農會組織分別扮演生產鏈串連、空間整合與資本籌措的要角。整體而言，農作生態、人類生態與山坡地環境生態三者，共同形塑嘉義丘陵區檳榔業的政治生態。 本研究目的有三，包含：(1)探究同屬邊緣性的「丘陵區」、與官方觀點下的邊緣作物－「檳榔」二者的結合，如何改變區域特質；(2)分析檳榔利益關係人的觀點異同所引發的尺度政治；(3)與西方政治生態學對話，來創發具臺灣特色的政治生態學架構。方法上，本研究分析臺灣省議會檔案、國家政策，並透過訪談來釐清民間與官方的論述。在方法論上，關注能動者與自然環境之間互動的政治生態學，則提供本研究一取徑來檢視檳榔的尺度政治。 研究結果呈現官方雖然長久奉三不政策－「不鼓勵、不禁止、不輔導」為圭臬，但實際上由於各單位間觀點不一、官方必須顧及民生經濟、檳榔相關行業可成國家稅源的爭論，以致檳榔政策不甚明確性，甚至引發在地尺度穿越、穿透國家尺度，使國家在面對檳榔問題時面臨渙散的窘境，在地檳榔業者遂能在弔詭的灰色政策下，游移於邊陲與核心間、並發揮能動性來開展檳榔業。 西方的政治生態學取徑啟示，尺度之間歷經衝突後往往可以妥協，並找到第三條路來解決爭端，但以臺灣丘陵區檳榔業的例子視之，國家與在地難以找到折衝、辯證的轉譯時機，以致檳榔問題長時間呈現無解的狀態，因無解之故，尺度間瞬忽失去彼此針鋒相對的機會，檳榔業遂可逕自發展。Hillside Chia-yi is an obvious borderland in Taiwan, as its uneven terrains, less development of industry and commerce, the border nature between the Han and aboriginal peoples, and agricultural difficulties, such as unsteady price of farm produce, and aging of labor, and so on. The distinguishing features of betel nut industry in Hillside Chia-yi, including specialization of produce, high mobility of producers, and betel nut as symbol of local identity. Multi-scales affect the development of betel nut industry.Especially, the official anti-betel nut policy causes negative effects on the industry; however, the local betel nut industry contingently changes the marginal fortune of the area. The beneficial conflicts under power relations between national and local scale result in scalar politics. This developmental process of the betel nut industry is complicated with multi-dimensional discourses. On the one hand, official discourses include several aspects, such as environmental hygiene, political economics, civil health, soil and water conservation, smuggling and global environmentalism; on the other hand, the folk think that betel nut production can maintain economic lives, and its fruit can cure tropical diseases even maintain traditional customs and interpersonal relationship. The agricultural and farmers’ associations play an important role for spatial integration and capital of the industry. Agriculture, human being, and mountainous slope environment configure the political ecology of betel nut industry in hillside Chia-yi. The purposes of the research, including: (1) To explore the mechanism how marginal mountainous area and betel nut combine, and then transform the characters of the region; (2) To analyze how differences and similarities of viewpoints among stakeholders cause scalar politics; (3) To rethink political ecology approach from the West, and try to create distinctive political ecology framework of Taiwan research. As far as the methodology is concerned, political ecology which focuses on agents and natural environment inspire the study to examine the scalar politics of betel nut. The findings reveal that even though the government follow the “Three-No Policy” as principle, actually various units have different viewpoints toward betel nut industry. In addition, official departments feel responsibility to take after farmers’ livelihood. Therefore, betel nut policies are not very clear and definite, and the national scale disintegrates subtly. Eventually, betel nut farmers and dealers get opportunities to exercise their agency and oscillate between core and periphery under the peculiar “grey policy”. Through the lens of political ecology, it is obvious that scale can compromise after contradictory conflicts, and scale can find the third way to solve points in dispute. However, from the case of betel nut industry in hillside Taiwan, the nation and the local cannot find translational moment easily, and finally resulting in the unsettled situation of issue for a long period. Hence, the scales lose opportunities for serious opposition, and the betel nut industry can develop and flourish continually without official assistance.