Assemblyman Seo Samsuk: "The Obligation for the State to Ensure Food Self-Sufficiency Must Be Specified in the Constitution"

Food Self-Sufficiency Rate Drops 10%P in 10 Years, From 56.2% in 2009 to 46.7% in 2018

More Serious Grain Self-Sufficiency Rate Only 21.7% as of 2018

Seosamseok, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker (Yeongam, Muan, Sinan, Jeollanam-do)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] Seo Sam-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Jeonnam Yeongam·Muan·Sinan), demanded on the 27th that "the state's obligation to make efforts to secure food self-sufficiency rate should be stipulated in the Constitution."

During the National Assembly Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee's work report on the same day, Rep. Seo proposed this, saying, "Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus infection, the importance of securing the food self-sufficiency rate has increased due to logistics restrictions, but the actual performance is insufficient."

According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the domestic food self-sufficiency rate, which was 56.2% in 2009, dropped by 9.5 percentage points to 46.7% in 2018, ten years later. During the same period, by crop, barley fell from 47.9% to 32.6%, wheat from 0.9% to 1.2%, soybeans from 33.8% to 25.4%, and corn from 5.6% to 3.3%.

The grain self-sufficiency rate, considering demand for feed, is even more serious; in 2018, the domestic grain self-sufficiency rate was only 21.7%. By crop, barley was 31.4%, wheat 0.7%, corn 0.7%, and soybeans 6.3%.

These self-sufficiency rates fall far short of government targets. The government set the food self-sufficiency rate target at 57.0% and the grain self-sufficiency rate at 30% in 2017, but the actual achieved rates were 48.9% and 23.4%, respectively.

Accordingly, special measures are needed to achieve the 2022 targets of a 55.4% food self-sufficiency rate and a 27.3% grain self-sufficiency rate.

Rep. Seo Sam-seok emphasized, "Although the government verbally calls agriculture a life industry, it has failed to properly achieve even the food self-sufficiency rate targets it set by law, and it does not take proper responsibility for this," adding, "The state's obligation to make efforts to secure the food self-sufficiency rate, which is critical to national security and public safety, must be stipulated in the Constitution."

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