Catch 'Chuseok Prices'... Local Governments Withdraw Rural Daily Worker Supply Plans to Prepare for Busy Farming Season

Support for 1,000 Dispatched Workers Ahead of April-June Farming Season
Labor Management and Strengthening Through Local Government Plans for August-October Farming Season

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government plans to collect daily labor demand and workforce supply plans from local governments in major production areas of key Chuseok items such as apples as early as the end of this month, in preparation for the autumn farming season (August to October). Following the introduction of a dispatch worker support system for 1,000 workers during the spring farming season (April to June) in April, the government will refine the workforce supply system of local governments for the autumn farming season. Through this, it aims to manage the risk of production decline and price increases of Chuseok seasonal products.

On the 20th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that it has selected 21 key management cities and counties, including Anseong in Gyeonggi Province and Pyeongchang in Gangwon Province, ahead of the harvest season from August to October, and plans to receive monthly and weekly workforce supply plans from as early as the end of this month. This measure is to prevent disruptions in the production of major items such as apples, pears, and grapes that will appear on Chuseok tables. Since a decrease in supply can act as a factor in raising "table prices," the government intends to manage this.

Local governments of key management cities and counties must plan in advance the workforce brokerage by rural workforce brokerage centers, the scale and timing of volunteers from universities and volunteer organizations according to item and timing-specific labor demand. This is to enable focused support of labor to areas expected to face shortages at the right timing. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to cooperate with related ministries such as the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Justice, as well as agricultural cooperatives, to deploy military personnel, social service order workers, and private volunteers to local governments that have difficulty securing their own workforce.

In addition, efforts will be made to expand the pool of workers at each rural workforce brokerage center. Although there are private brokerage centers where farms directly contract, the government intends to actively manage the centers it oversees to increase policy implementation rates. During the spring farming season, a total of 680,000 labor days were brokered. This was 46% more workers brokered compared to the same period the previous year. However, it was found that some centers with insufficient worker pools experienced labor shortages at times when even one more worker was needed.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to strengthen recruitment publicity by linking with nearby urban area agricultural cooperatives and employment centers to expand the worker pool at each center. In particular, recruitment of job seekers will be intensified by sending agricultural daily labor information of interested areas to members of 85 nationwide return-to-farming and return-to-village centers and participants of the "Experience Rural Living" program who hope to return to farming.

Furthermore, a pilot operation of agricultural machinery work teams will be promoted mainly at centers near major garlic and onion production areas. Farmers cultivating these crops have experienced great difficulties in workforce supply due to temporary surges in demand during the farming season. The centers recruit and register personnel capable of operating agricultural machinery, then broker farm work agency applications from farms. Transportation costs of agricultural machinery to the work site are supported for the workers. This year, a pilot project for sowing and transplanting using agricultural machinery will be conducted on part of the cultivation area in major garlic and onion production areas. Agricultural machinery work will be prioritized for support during next year's harvest season as well.

An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said, "We will explore all possible measures to support workforce supply during the harvest season in cooperation with local governments and agricultural cooperatives to ensure that there are no disruptions in the harvest of agricultural products, including Chuseok seasonal items."

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