Boseong-gun Public Officials Stand with Farmers Amid COVID-19 Challenges

Farmers' Representative: "Just Awareness and Consideration from Administration Give Us Strength"

One Month of Rural Labor Assistance... Helped 19 Farms with 11ha of Work

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Yong-chul] Boseong-gun, Jeollanam-do announced on the 15th that from April 16 to May 13, over 430 people were deployed to 19 farms to assist with farm labor shortages caused by COVID-19.

Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic making it difficult for foreign workers to enter the country and the growing reluctance toward gatherings, the county implemented public official farm labor assistance to resolve the severe shortage of rural labor and promote timely farming.

The target farms were prioritized for those unable to work due to illness or injury, labor-vulnerable farms such as those run by elderly farmers, and farms requiring a large workforce simultaneously, such as fruit orchards and field crops.

During about a month, county public officials visited green tea farms, kiwi farms, and chili pepper farms, helping with tasks such as planting seedlings, picking tea leaves, thinning flowers and fruits, and seedling work, working hard under the sun.

Baek Jong-woo, a representative of a tea farm located in Hoecheon-myeon, said, “We are grateful not only that public officials came out to help reduce our workload but also that they understood the difficulties of the farms and showed concern and consideration, which makes it even more meaningful and gives us strength to continue farming.”

County Governor Kim Cheol-woo stated, “We will strive to enable farmers to carry out timely farming and prepare various support measures to share the pain with all residents suffering from COVID-19.”

Meanwhile, Boseong-gun plans to operate a farm labor assistance window until June (spring season) and continue farm labor assistance with public officials, related organizations, and social service groups.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.