64.9% of Farmers "Increasingly Pessimistic About Korean Agricultural Policy"

Seosamseok, 1,203 Nonghyup Members Surveyed
Average Fair Price for One Sack of Rice is 234,000 Won
Rural Life Satisfaction at 27.3%... Down 10% from 5 Years Ago

Assemblyman Seo Samsuk

A survey revealed that the satisfaction level of Nonghyup cooperative members with rural life has significantly declined, and the future of Korean agriculture is viewed as ‘pessimistic’.

According to a public opinion survey conducted by Seo Sam-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Yeongam·Muan·Sinan), targeting 1,203 Nonghyup cooperative members ahead of the 2024 regular National Assembly audit on the 8th, the overall satisfaction with rural life in 2024 was 27.3%, a 10% drop compared to 37.3% in 2020.

In particular, 64.9% of respondents viewed the future of Korean agriculture in 10 years as ‘pessimistic,’ while only 10.7% expressed an ‘optimistic’ outlook, highlighting a significant disconnect between the government’s agricultural policies and the sentiments of farmers.

Negative views were also evident in job satisfaction. The job satisfaction score as a farmer was 2.86 out of 5, failing to reach even an ‘average’ level. The ‘satisfied’ response was 22.4%, the lowest in the past five years, while ‘dissatisfied’ rose by about 10% to 32.5% compared to 22.9% in 2020.

Satisfaction with the current government’s agricultural policies scored 2.2 out of 5, with 63.1% of respondents expressing dissatisfaction and only 8.7% reporting satisfaction.

Evaluations of major government projects in progress showed that the ‘doing well’ responses did not exceed half. The percentages of respondents who answered ‘doing well’ were as follows: expansion and reform of agricultural direct payments (45.4%), transition to future agriculture (41.7%), disaster countermeasures and damage support, youth farmers, revitalization of return-to-farming and rural migration (40.5%), securing food security (36.1%), improvement of residential conditions (36%), alleviation of labor shortages (33.5%), modernization of distribution structure and price stabilization (33.2%), and reduction of production cost burdens (33%).

As for agricultural policies that should be prioritized in the future, respondents cited support measures for securing rural labor (53.4%), guaranteeing minimum production costs (47.5%), and expanding farm management safety nets (45.4%).

Regarding institutional evaluations for agricultural and rural development, respondents ranked the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (4.32), local governments (4.18), cooperatives (4.14), the National Assembly (4.09), and the Presidential Office (3.92) as important. However, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, which was rated most important, scored only 2.36, placing it in the lower tier, while the Presidential Office scored 2.05 and the National Assembly 2.08, both ranking at the bottom.

Responses concerning the rice price issue also drew attention. The average appropriate price per bag of rice was 234,000 KRW. Responsibility for the lack of rice price guarantees was attributed to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (40.1%), the Presidential Office (25.1%), and the National Assembly (23%). Regarding the government’s claim of rice oversupply, 59.5% disagreed, overwhelmingly outnumbering the 19.1% who agreed.

Regarding the survey results, Representative Seo said, “We have conducted farmer opinion surveys over five years, but the evaluations by farmers have not improved and have rather declined in all areas compared to the initial survey, which is disheartening. The Yoon Seok-yeol administration promised a ‘livable rural agricultural and fishing village’ as a national agenda, but seeing the increasingly pessimistic rural situation, farmers are left wondering whom they can rely on.”

Seo added, “The government promised to guarantee a rice price of 200,000 KRW, but the current price is around 170,000 KRW. Farmers believe 230,000 KRW is the appropriate price and hold the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs responsible for the price decline. The Ministry must recall the constitutional spirit of protecting the interests of farmers and fishermen and proactively accept the demands of farmers based on the survey results.”

The farmer opinion survey by Seo’s office began in 2020 and this year marks the fifth iteration. The survey was commissioned to the professional polling agency T.BRIDGE and conducted from the 11th to the 26th of last month, targeting 1,203 Nonghyup cooperative members nationwide. The sampling error margin is ±2.8 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

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