National Paddy and Dry Field Area Decreases for 8 Consecutive Years

Statistics Korea Announces '2020 Gyeongji Area Survey'

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The area of farmland, including rice paddies and fields nationwide, has decreased for eight consecutive years.

According to the "2020 Farmland Area Survey Results" announced by Statistics Korea on the 26th, the total farmland area nationwide last year was 1,565,000 hectares (ha), down 16,000 ha (1.0%) from the previous year.

This marks eight consecutive years of decline since Statistics Korea began remote sensing using satellite imagery in 2012. From 1988 to 2011, statistics were compiled through field surveys, during which farmland area also continuously decreased.

The actual increase in area was 1,000 ha compared to the previous year, while the actual decrease was 17,000 ha.

The main reasons for the reduction in farmland area were building construction (11,000 ha), idle land (3,000 ha), and public facilities (2,000 ha). However, farmland area increased by 1,000 ha due to reclamation and land development.

Among the farmland area, rice paddies accounted for 824,000 ha, a decrease of 16,000 ha (-1.0%) from the previous year, while field area was 741,000 ha, down 11,000 ha (-1.4%) compared to the previous year.

The proportion of rice paddies within the total farmland area was 52.7%, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous year.

By province, Jeonnam had the largest farmland area at 286,000 ha (18.3%), followed by Gyeongbuk (257,000 ha; 16.4%) and Chungnam (209,000 ha; 13.3%).

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