Farmers United as 'Batjakmul Joint Management Bodies'... Lowering Production Costs and Improving Quality

Ministry of Agriculture-Food aT Support Project
174 Developed Since 2016
Reducing Labor Intensity and Production Costs
Also Renting Agricultural Machinery to Improve Quality

In Daesan-myeon and Seongsong-myeon of Gochang-gun, Jeonbuk, 230 peanut farming households participate in a joint management body that handles both production and shipment. Participating farmers select varieties preferred by consumers and carry out sowing, transplanting, and cultivation in the same way, while jointly using agricultural machinery such as harvesters, threshers, and tractors needed during the process. As a result, labor intensity and production costs were reduced, quality improved, and farm income increased. This change was achieved through the government-supported "Field Crop Joint Management Body Development" project.

Farmers participating in Daesung Nonghyup's peanut cooperative are using peanut threshers to thresh peanuts.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) on the 27th, a total of 174 joint management bodies have been developed from 2016, when the field crop joint management body development support project began, until this year. Starting with 15 bodies in the first year of the support project in 2016, 18 to 25 joint management bodies have been developed annually up to this year. Through this, a total of 47 items including onions, apples, peaches, sweet potatoes, and green onions are jointly cultivated and shipped.

This support project was implemented in 2016 to develop joint management bodies centered on major field crop production areas, organize and scale them up, increase market bargaining power through integrated production and distribution organizations and contract farming, and establish a foundation capable of autonomously regulating supply and demand. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, aT, and local governments oversee the project, with selected management bodies responsible for implementation.

Using the Rural Structure Improvement Special Account as funding, up to 1 billion KRW per joint management body (50% national funds, 40% local funds, 10% self-contribution) is supported. The funds are used for capacity building such as education for field crop producers, production management including agricultural machinery and equipment necessary for joint farming, storage and distribution, drying, sorting and packaging, processing facilities and equipment, and other activities to enhance product quality.

Daeseong Nonghyup, named after the initials of Daesan-myeon and Seongsong-myeon, successfully developed a peanut management body through the support project. Jeong Dong-ik, head of the Daeseong Nonghyup Peanut Processing Center, explained, "Since 1992, Daeseong Nonghyup has operated a peanut processing center that purchases peanuts from farmers for sorting, processing, and sales. However, most of the work was manual, which was labor-intensive and time-consuming, so mechanization was greatly needed. Through the support project, we expanded various agricultural machinery and jointly worked on quality improvement, achieving results such as reduced labor and production costs and increased farm income."

Daeseong Nonghyup applied for the field crop joint management body development support project in 2021 and received support for two years starting in 2022. The total support was 1 billion KRW, including 500 million KRW from national funds, 400 million KRW from local governments, and 100 million KRW self-contribution. Through this, Daeseong Nonghyup focused on strengthening farmers' capabilities, reducing production costs, and improving quality. First, consulting and education were provided to organize and develop the joint management body to enhance the capabilities of participating farmers. They promoted the necessity of the joint management body development project to farmers, explained its advantages, and held meetings and training sessions on future production varieties and peanut production techniques.

An explanation about the Field Crop Joint Management Body Development Support Project is being given at the Daesung Nonghyup Education Center.

They also expanded facilities to reduce production costs and improve quality. The purpose was to reduce labor intensity and frequency through mechanization of production facilities. To this end, they invested 400 million KRW to purchase 10 ridge mulch machines that cover ridges (mound-shaped planting beds) made by piling soil with plastic film, 10 peanut harvesters, 9 threshers, and 3 tractors. The agricultural machinery purchased through the support project is rented out by Daeseong Nonghyup to farmers for a certain fee whenever needed.

Daeseong Nonghyup also expanded facilities to improve the quality of produced peanuts. They established facilities for washing and sorting peanuts with hard shells, roasting facilities for boiled peanuts sold during Jeongwol Daeboreum (the first full moon of the lunar year) and shelled peanuts, as well as a crushed peanut (jogan) production line for salad use.

Farmers participating in Daesung Nonghyup's peanut joint management group are covering the ridges with plastic film using a mulch layer.

With the expansion of facilities for peanut production, sorting, and productization, the labor intensity of farmers has significantly decreased. Director Jeong said, "Previously, it took five people about eight hours to cover 500 pyeong (approximately 1,653㎡) of ridges with plastic film, but using the ridge mulch machine, three people can finish covering 1,000 pyeong of ridges in four hours. Threshing took five people eight hours to work on 400 pyeong, but with the thresher, three people can thresh 800 pyeong in four hours."

As a result of these achievements, the number of farmers participating in Daeseong Nonghyup's peanut joint management body and their peanut shipment amounts have steadily increased. In 2020, when the joint management body was first organized, only 170 farmers participated, but now the number has grown to 230. The shipment amount of peanuts from participating farmers increased from about 490 million KRW to approximately 1.1 billion KRW during the same period. Input costs such as labor for peanut production decreased, while profits increased significantly. Daeseong Nonghyup aims to increase the number of participating farmers in the joint management body to 300 by 2027.

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