Jeonnam 6,023 Households with Over 100 Million Won in Wealth, 'Record High'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Jeollanam-do announced that the number of farms with an income of over 100 million KRW has steadily increased over the past five years, reaching a record high of 6,023 households as of the end of last year. This represents an 8.6% increase compared to the previous year (5,547 households).

From December last year, Jeonnam Province and city/counties analyzed administrative data and conducted interviews targeting farms and corporations within the province. Farms with an income of over 50 million KRW accounted for 11,987 households, or 8.7% of the total 136,972 farms, marking a 5.1% increase from the previous year. Potential high-income farms earning between 50 million KRW and less than 100 million KRW also increased by 1.8% (105 households) to 5,964 households compared to the previous year.

In particular, despite the overall decrease in the number of farms in the province each year, high-income farms earning over 100 million KRW have steadily increased from 4,562 households in 2017, to 5,166 in 2019, and 6,023 in 2021.

By income scale, farms earning between 100 million KRW and less than 200 million KRW accounted for 4,377 households, representing 73% of all high-income farms. Those earning between 200 million KRW and less than 500 million KRW numbered 1,348 households (22%), and farms earning over 500 million KRW totaled 298 households (5%).

By management type, livestock farms accounted for 2,292 households (38%), followed by food crop farms with 2,052 households (34%), vegetable farms with 893 households (15%), and fruit farms with 254 households (4%).

By city/county, Haenam-gun had the highest number with 720 households (12%), followed by Goheung-gun with 646 households (11%), Gangjin-gun with 577 households (10%), and Yeonggwang-gun with 481 households (8%).

By age group, those in their 50s accounted for the largest number at 2,005 households (33%), followed by those aged 65 and over with 1,502 households (25%), those aged 60 to under 64 with 1,477 households (25%), and young farmers aged 49 and under with 1,039 households (17%). Notably, 75 households (1.2%) of returning farmers are included across all age groups.

The increase in high-income farms earning over 100 million KRW is attributed to factors such as continuous rice price increases in the agricultural sector, increased production per 10a of food crops due to reduced typhoons and pests, and rising prices of vegetables like strawberries, cucumbers, and peppers, as well as fruits like pears, peaches, and kiwifruit.

In the livestock sector, the rise in Korean beef prices and increased livestock numbers due to increased home meal consumption during COVID-19 were key factors. Various support policies by Jeonnam Province to expand farm income also played a role.

Jeonnam Province plans to actively support the focused cultivation of high-income farms earning over 100 million KRW through measures such as ▲ branding and scaling Jeonnam rice centered on the Saechungmu rice variety ▲ premiumization and productivity improvement through Korean beef breed improvement ▲ eco-friendly livestock farming and improvement of livestock environments such as pig farming ▲ premium quality enhancement of vegetables and fruits and sixth industrialization ▲ domestic market capture and export expansion of subtropical fruits.

A Jeonnam Province official said, “With the goal of nurturing 500 high-income farms earning over 100 million KRW annually, we will focus on supporting the leap of potential high-income farms earning between 50 million KRW and 100 million KRW, laying a growth ladder. We will strengthen the agricultural production base and focus on nurturing young and successor farmers into high-income wealthy farmers to secure sustainable growth momentum in rural areas.”

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