Song Miryeong, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, "Will Establish New Strategies for Sustainable Development of the Agri-Food Industry"

Inauguration Ceremony at Government Sejong Complex on the 2nd

Song Miryeong, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. (File photo) [Image source=Yonhap News]

Song Mi-ryeong, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated on the 2nd, "In response to changes in domestic and international conditions such as demographic structure and climate change, we will establish new strategies to enhance productivity, mechanization and intelligence, high value-added production, and activation of environmental and ecological functions to ensure the sustainable development of the agri-food industry."

At the inauguration ceremony held at the Government Complex Sejong on the same day, Minister Song said, "We will shift to a robust agricultural policy where farmers can focus on agriculture without worries and the public can have food security without concerns."

He plans to first organize major food grains, vegetables, and livestock so that farmers can autonomously plan appropriate production volumes, and fundamentally reorganize supply-demand and distribution systems and related infrastructure to supply safe agricultural and livestock products stably and efficiently. In addition, to respond to rising management costs due to instability in raw material supply chains and income risks caused by sudden drops in agricultural product prices, he will strengthen a Korean-style income and management safety net and advance the livestock epidemic response system.

He also emphasized the advancement of the agri-food industry. Minister Song promised, "To attract the younger generation who will lead future agriculture and rural areas, we will drastically improve the industry's structure so that the agri-food industry can generate high income and provide good jobs," adding, "We will actively promote the digital transformation of agriculture so that companies and talents related to smart agriculture can freely conduct research and demonstrations in agricultural fields."

The rural areas will be made into "valuable spaces where citizens can live, work, and rest." He emphasized, "We will shift the policy framework so that rural areas can escape the vicious cycle of human and material capital outflow and decline in vitality, providing good housing, jobs, and social services, and actively overcome the crisis of rural extinction. Using the new rural policy platform, Rural Spatial Planning, we will support local residents and related stakeholders to redesign their regions and establish regeneration plans tailored to their characteristics."

Finally, Minister Song said, "We will definitely keep the promises of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration and pursue important policies with continuity," adding, "We will expand support to strengthen farm management safety devices, generational transition of agricultural labor, carbon neutrality, and environmental improvement to ensure that the 5 trillion won in direct payments are secured without fail, and alleviate the burden of rising management costs due to increases in oil, agricultural materials, and feed prices."

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