Incheon City Conducts Utilization Survey of 30,000 Farmland Plots and Cracks Down on Farmland Act Violations

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City will conduct the '2021 Farmland Usage Survey' from October 26 to November 30.

In this survey, the city will conduct a full investigation for the first time on 30,512 parcels of farmland acquired by non-residents through inheritance or purchase over the past 10 years, and 839 parcels owned by agricultural corporations, focusing on the ownership and usage status of a total of 31,351 farmland parcels.

Additionally, the city will investigate whether farmland owners are engaged in agricultural management to detect unauthorized fallow land, illegal leasing, and will also conduct status surveys, guidance, and inspections on farm sheds and landfilling, which have seen an increase in violations of the Farmland Act recently.

Farm sheds are facilities installed to store agricultural materials and machinery directly needed for farming, to process harvested crops temporarily, or to rest during farming activities; using them for residential purposes constitutes a violation of the Farmland Act. In the case of landfilling, using inappropriate soil such as recycled aggregates is prohibited.

Furthermore, the city will conduct a full survey of agricultural facilities with solar power installations such as livestock barns, mushroom cultivation houses, and insect breeding houses to check whether agricultural management is being conducted. For agricultural corporations, the survey will also check compliance with farmland ownership requirements, including actual agricultural management and investment limits by farmers.

Based on the survey results, illegal farmland ownership or leasing, unauthorized fallow land, and other violations of the Farmland Act will be subject to administrative actions such as imposing farmland disposal obligations after hearing procedures, along with prosecution.

An official from Incheon City stated, "Through this survey, we plan to further establish order under the Farmland Act to prevent speculation and understand the current status of farmland usage to utilize it for future policy improvements."

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