Hapcheon County Council Holds 'Discussion on Introduction of Farmer's Allowance'

The public hearing-style debate for gathering public opinion is the first since the opening of the assembly

Hapcheon County Council is holding a discussion on the introduction plan of the Farmers' Allowance. (Photo by Hapcheon County Council)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] The Hapcheon County Council in Gyeongnam announced on the 9th that it held a forum on the introduction of a farmers' allowance to preserve the public value of agriculture and rural areas at the Comprehensive Social Welfare Center.

The forum proceeded with two thematic presentations and three designated discussions, attended by council members, invited presenters, and about 100 residents.

As keynote speakers, Lee Su-mi, head of the research planning team at the Agricultural Farmers Policy Research Institute Nyeoreum, and Kim Hoon-gyu, chairman of the Agricultural Policy Innovation Subcommittee of the Gyeongnam Provincial Special Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries, each presented on the tasks of the farmers' allowance for sustainable agriculture and rural maintenance, and the current status and direction of the Gyeongnam farmers' allowance.

Following this, Professor Kim Yoon-sik of the Department of Food Resource Economics at Gyeongsang National University chaired the session. Designated discussants included Choi Hyun-seok, vice president of the Hapcheon County Farmers' Association, who spoke about alternatives for sustainable agriculture and the farmers' allowance; Kim Nam-young, secretary general of the Hapcheon County Women Farmers' Association, who advocated for a farmers' allowance for all farmers; and Bin Ji-tae, member of the Agriculture, Marine, and Fisheries Committee of the Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Council, who spoke about a public farmers' allowance system for sustainable agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, continuing the discussion.

The county council had enacted an ordinance supporting the farmers' allowance to preserve the public value of agriculture and rural areas at the 239th regular meeting in December 2019, but it has not been implemented.

Chairman Bae Mong-hee said in his opening remarks, "I hope that reasonable measures for the introduction of the farmers' allowance can be derived through this forum," and added, "I hope this will be an opportunity to hear public opinion on what is first needed for the maintenance and development of agriculture and rural areas in our county, where agriculture and livestock farming are predominant."

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