Daegu Metropolitan City to Identify Difficulties and Submit Proposals to the Government Regarding Comprehensive Farmland Survey

[Financial News Daegu = Reporter Kim Jang-wook] # As the majority of farmland owners are elderly and face practical difficulties in farming directly due to health issues, it is common in rural areas for them to entrust farming to others through customary lease arrangements and make a living from the rent. With this comprehensive survey jeopardizing even customary lease relationships unrelated to speculation, effective protective measures must be established to ensure that well-intentioned owners and tenant farmers do not suffer direct harm. #
Daegu Metropolitan City Mayor Choo Kyung-ho drew attention on the 21st by holding a meeting with representatives of farmers' organizations in the first conference room of City Hall in Sangyeok regarding the government's comprehensive farmland survey and listening firsthand to difficulties in the field.
Attendees expressed various concerns, saying that although they understood the purpose of the comprehensive farmland survey, the government's current approach was 'far removed from the reality of rural areas outside the capital region, where it is difficult both to farm and to sell land.'
Previously, the government began conducting a comprehensive survey from April through the end of the year of all farmland acquired since the enforcement of the Farmland Act in 1996, in order to prevent illegal speculation in accordance with the principle that farmland should be owned by those who cultivate it. Farmers have recently criticized the policy for failing to properly reflect the reality of rural areas outside the capital region.
Accordingly, the city organized this meeting to hear firsthand the problems and difficulties that local farmers are actually experiencing because of the comprehensive farmland survey.
Lee Young-hee, president of the Daegu Metropolitan City Gunwi County Federation of the Korean Women Farmers Association, said, "The government is also advising elderly farmers who have difficulty cultivating their land directly to entrust it to the Farmland Bank, but in reality, the system makes it difficult to use the Farmland Bank for land with poor farming conditions."
The president of the Korean Successor Farmers Association's Daegu Metropolitan City Federation also expressed the difficulties faced in reality, saying, "Although I inherited or received farmland as a gift from an older family member, I am subject to compulsory disposal simply because I lease it to a neighbor because there is no one to farm it. If I fail to comply, I must even pay an excessive enforcement fine equivalent to 25% of the officially assessed land value."
Regarding the transaction freeze, the president of the Korean Rural Leaders Association's Daegu Metropolitan City Federation said, "Because of the comprehensive farmland survey, there are not even buyers for rice paddies and fields in rural areas outside the capital region. People worried about disadvantages are instead trying to sell their farmland at bargain prices, causing farmland owners to experience a sudden collapse in asset value."
Mayor Choo said, "As the government proceeds with the comprehensive farmland survey, well-intentioned farmers must not suffer harm contrary to the policy's purpose because the reality of rural areas outside the capital region has not been reflected." He added, "The city will convey the voices of local farmers to the government and actively support efforts to improve the policy by reflecting the unique circumstances of the field."
[email protected] Kim Jang-wook Reporter