Muan-gun Suspends Supply of BM Activated Water Microbial Agent... Livestock Administration Faces 'Criticism'

Published 28 Mar.2023 13:27(KST)

Livestock Farmers Suffering from Double and Triple Hardships

Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do, has sparked outrage among livestock farmers by completely halting the BM Activated Water Microbial Agent support project, which had been ongoing for over 10 years, since October last year.

According to Muan-gun on the 28th, the BM Activated Water plant facility, built with billions of won invested since 2012 to strengthen livestock competitiveness, has currently stopped operating, and the support project itself was suspended due to subsidy fraud issues that surfaced last year related to the BM Activated Water project.

Muan-gun Suspends Supply of BM Activated Water Microbial Agent... Livestock Administration Faces 'Criticism'

In this process, the sudden suspension of support without any explanation or guidance to livestock farmers about the halt and resumption has drawn criticism for Muan-gun’s lack of communication.

Recently, livestock farmers, who have been struggling with nationwide overbreeding of Korean cattle (Hanwoo), rising feed costs, and the consequent plummeting cattle prices, have continuously voiced their management difficulties.

The livestock farmers raised their voices, saying, “Instead of coming together to resolve management difficulties, Muan-gun abruptly stopped supplying the BM Activated Water, which was originally supported, without any communication, and the damage has been directly passed on to the livestock farmers, causing them to suffer double and even triple hardships.”

Livestock farmer A said, “I am worried because as it gets hotter, livestock odors and insects like flies and mosquitoes will worsen,” and protested, “Nearby local governments provide BM Activated Water, which is easy to use for free, but Muan-gun does not support it without any notice.”

A Muan-gun official said, “Due to subsidy embezzlement by a certain Hanwoo Agricultural Cooperative Corporation, support has been suspended for one year,” and added, “We are looking for ways to prevent damage to other livestock farmers.”

To avoid the stigma of ‘unilateral administration, incompetent administration, and non-communicative administration,’ it seems urgent for Muan-gun to promptly prepare countermeasures for the supply of BM Activated Water and listen to the difficulties of livestock farmers.