Integrated Provision of Agriculture, Medical, and Care Services... Ministry of Agriculture Aims to Establish Rural Care Model

Pilot Project Integrating Social Agriculture, Medical, and Care Services in Yangpyeong

It has been found that a rural care model integrating social agriculture, medical, and care services is yielding positive results in Yangpyeong County.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on April 21 that it has confirmed the effectiveness of the rural care model through a pilot project connecting social agriculture and medical welfare social cooperatives (hereinafter referred to as “medical welfare cooperatives”).

The Ministry supports social farms and service communities to foster providers of daily life and care services, which are lacking in rural areas. This pilot project was carried out in Yangpyeong County to establish a model in which the medical welfare cooperative acts as one pillar of the service community and collaborates with social farms and other service providers in rural areas to deliver integrated services.

A social farm is a farm that supports vulnerable groups with care, employment, and education through agricultural activities, while a service community is a group organized by residents to provide daily services such as meals and laundry.

In the pilot project area, there was a lack of safe outdoor spaces for welfare facility users. To address this, the local social farm supported agriculture-based care activities for welfare facility users, such as strawberry harvesting and making herbal sachets. The Yangpyeong Medical Welfare Cooperative provided medical consultations before and after activities, and offered organic meal plans based on participants’ health status.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, participants displayed more active behavior at open farms compared to confined indoor spaces, attempting to walk on their own or harvest herbs. Communication and interaction among participants also became more active. Medical indicators such as physical function and cognitive activity improved compared to before participation. Based on the outcomes of this project, the social farm and the Yangpyeong Medical Welfare Cooperative plan to continue providing social agriculture services to vulnerable groups in the area.

The participation of medical welfare cooperatives based in rural areas in rural service communities is also expanding. In addition to Sancheong Medical Welfare Cooperative, the Yangpyeong and Hwaseong Medical Welfare Cooperatives will also carry out care and medical services with local residents, supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, starting this year. Residents will directly measure basic health data such as blood pressure and blood sugar of their neighbors and enter it into a platform, after which medical staff will use the data to identify individuals in need and provide home visits.

Jeon Hanyeong, Director General for Rural Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated, “This pilot project is an example of a new rural care model that connects medical services, social agriculture, and daily life services,” adding, “We will continue to discover and foster service providers in rural areas to strengthen community-based care systems.”

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