[Insight & Opinion] The Future of Agriculture: Expanding Cultivated Land, Reducing the Number of Farmers

Due to President Yoon Suk-yeol's veto of the Grain Management Act, discussions about agriculture have been ongoing after a long time. Interest in agriculture itself had waned at some point, so it is fortunate that attention and discussions about agriculture are progressing in any form.

Agriculture is the most fundamental industry of society, but in most countries, it is facing many difficulties due to rapid changes in the socio-economic system. The main reason that productive discussions about agriculture are hindered is strong prejudice. Each person participating in the discussion has a different perception of agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. To some, they are support targets that society should care for and assist, while to others, they are low-productivity sectors that hinder the overall development of society. Due to these differing perspectives, discussions about agriculture often go off track, and even those involved tend to avoid the discussions themselves.

There are several clear directions for agriculture in our country. The number of farmers should decrease, and the cultivated area per farm household should increase. Clear quality standards for agricultural products must be established. We tend to be overly sensitive about the decrease in the number of farmers. The decline in farmers is a natural phenomenon and is seen similarly in most developed countries. What is important is that farmers' income should increase during this process. To increase farmers' income, agriculture inevitably needs to achieve economies of scale and improve efficiency as an industry. To improve productivity, capital and technology inputs are necessary, and to ensure these investments yield results, securing a certain scale of land and cultivated area is essential. Although technological advances, including unmanned robots, are being made, if the minimum area for applying such technology is not met, it becomes useless.

The industrialization process of agriculture should be linked to welfare for those who cannot participate in this process. For elderly farmers who have long worked in agriculture, it is necessary to secure income that allows them to maintain a basic livelihood even without cultivation activities through separate pensions and cash compensation. This is not a waste of cost but a reward for the hard work that has protected rural areas and provinces, and an effective investment to prevent regional extinction and maintain basic social infrastructure.

Agricultural products must have clear quality standards. In the case of rice, the United States classifies it into six grades, whereas we have three levels: special, superior, and ordinary. To increase consumption of agricultural products including rice, the use of these products as processing raw materials should be expanded. For use in processing, it is necessary to align with internationally accepted standards. Even though domestic agricultural products overflow due to bumper harvests, processing companies prefer imported raw materials because they are standardized and regulated. In the case of chili peppers, like Hungary, the spiciness should be standardized and sold by grade. To promote consumption, consumers should be guaranteed choices based on quality, but currently, the system is thoroughly quantity- and supplier-centered.

It is also important to break free from the obsession with rice. Although rice is said to be the staple food, we actually consume as much wheat and meat as rice. The paddy rice cultivation method, which is water-intensive agriculture, is effective in preserving soil functions but produces large amounts of methane, raising serious questions about its suitability in the era of climate change. Perhaps we are placing too much burden on rice. We are obsessed with the idea that rice farming improves farmers' income and develops regions, but it is necessary to view these separately. It is time to consider changes appropriate to the reality where unmanned robots equipped with satellites and artificial intelligence are being utilized in agriculture.

Choi Jun-young, Specialist at Yulchon LLC

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