To give voice to the local farmers and fishermen and to determine future policy directions for farming, fishing and rural areas, town hall meetings were held in 9 provinces by the Presidential Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Policy.
Reporting results of town hall meetings
On 12 December, the result of these town hall meetings focusing on transformation of agricultural system across South Korea was reported to the public by president Moon at the Korea National College of Agriculture and Fisheries (KNCAF) in Jeonju. The event was co-hosted by the Presidential Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Policy (PCAFRP), the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) to share the voices of local farmers and fishermen as well as to suggest future policy directions for farming, fishing and rural areas. It was a unique opportunity, giving the different generation of farmers/fishermen, graduates/students of agricultural study, and policy makers the possibility to communicate, contributing to a better understanding the future of farming and fisheries.
Public Benefit Direct Payment System
This joint event for farming and fishing industries was specially significant as it took place directly after the government’s budget 2020 has been finalized and confirmed by the parliament. The confirmed budget includes 1.86 billion euros for implementing the Public Benefit Direct Payment System which is currently one of the government’s key pledges in agriculture policy. It is further expected to serve as an opportunity to promote the transition of the current agriculture practices to a ‘people and environmentally-oriented farming’.
The plans for implementation of the Public Benefit Direct Payment System include; (for more information click here)
- Review of the direct payment system so that it no longer takes preference over rice and large farms but stabilizes income levels of farms growing other crops and SME farms and strengthens public beneficial functions
- Implement supplementary measures to encourage early review of the direct payment system
- Build production and distribution basis for major crops and expand clients to help crop conversion of rice farms
During the event, the president said South Korea's rapid industrial development was made possible thanks to the support of the agriculture and fishery industries. He also underlined how such rural areas were devastated in the process. He explained that his administration is working to attract more people, particularly younger generation, to rural areas making it a key national agenda.
"As hope and future of South Korea, farming should be people- and environmentally-oriented," it was said. For that, President Moon has laid out various government goals, which include the application of smart technology. The president plans to expand Korea's advanced smart farm technology to other areas such as the livestock and fishery sectors. And by applying it to smaller farms and fisheries, he hopes to raise the industries' competitiveness and make life easier for elderly workers in these industries.
In addition to the transition to "people- and environmentally-oriented farming", and the introduction of the "public benefit direct payment system", the key tasks for sustainable farming and fishing in rural areas were introduced during the event.
Based on the results of this event, PCAFRP, MAFRA and MOF will coordinate with the necessary implementation plans for the future transformation of the Korean farming policies.
Who is the PCAFRP (Presidential Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Policy)?
The Committee was launched on April 25, 2019 and is making contribution to improvement in the quality of life and sustainable development of agriculture, fisheries and rural community. It also addresses the issues of income gap of farmers and fishers, aging of rural community, and wide rural-urban divide, a shift in agricultural and fisheries policy framework.
Goals of this committee are to find ways of achieving sustainable development in rural areas and contributing to the development of agriculture, as the foundation of the nation and the national economy, and improvement of welfare in rural communities.
The Committee consists of 28 members, including the inaugural chairperson, Park Jin-do, 22 civilian members and 5 ministers as mandatory member (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Office for Government Policy Coordination-Prime Minister’s Secretariat).
Source: agroberichtenbuitenland.nl
