Assemblyman Yoon Jae-gap, Threatened Food Security as Paddy Fields Disappear Every Year

Farmland Equivalent to 531 Times Yeouido Area Disappears Over 10 Years

Food Self-Sufficiency Rate Hits Record Low at 45.8%, Grain Self-Sufficiency at 21%

Democratic Party of Korea Representative Yoon Jae-gap (Haenam·Wando·Jindo) / ⓒ Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] Over the past decade, the area of rice paddies has decreased by 154,000 hectares (466,000 pyeong), and among these, only 0.04% continue to be used for agricultural and fishery purposes. The rest have been converted to uses unrelated to agriculture, such as public facilities (36.4%), residential facilities (19.8%), and mining and industrial facilities (12.3%).

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to National Assembly member Yoon Jae-gap (Democratic Party, Haenam-Wando-Jindo), a rice paddy area equivalent to 531 times the size of Yeouido has been converted to non-agricultural uses over the past 10 years.

Additionally, the number of farmland conversion permits by metropolitan cities and provinces over the past decade totaled 704,022 cases, with Gyeonggi (185,754 cases), Gyeongbuk (84,357 cases), Gyeongnam (68,943 cases), Chungnam (65,224 cases), and Jeonnam (60,911 cases) ranking highest.

Meanwhile, during the past 10 years when the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and local governments, which should protect farmland, have been actively loosening regulations on farmland, the food self-sufficiency rate dropped from 54% to 45.8%, a decrease of 8.3%, and the grain self-sufficiency rate fell from 27.6% to 21.0%, a decrease of 6.6%, marking the lowest levels for both food and grain self-sufficiency rates.

Assemblyman Yoon Jae-gap pointed out, “South Korea is the world’s fifth largest food importer, and with the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, there is growing concern over food security. Given the current trend of farmland reduction, it is impossible to guarantee food sovereignty, so thorough farmland management is necessary.”

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