Jeonbuk Emerging as a Hub for Social Agriculture

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[Jeonju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Han-ho] Jeonbuk Province announced on the 13th that nine new social farms were selected in the final competition of the ‘2022 Social Agriculture Activation Project’ hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

With this, Jeonbuk became the local government operating the largest number of social farms nationwide, with a total of 18 locations.

The newly selected social farms include △ Gimje City Agricultural Corporation Kkotdabi Farm (children and adolescents with developmental disabilities, etc.) △ Iksan City Agricultural Corporation Yeonhwasanbang (intellectually disabled, drug addicts, etc.) and Rural Village Research Association (elderly living alone, disabled, etc.) △ Namwon City Agricultural Corporation Red Co., Ltd. (female farmers, intellectually disabled, etc.) △ Wanju County Wanju Social Economy Network (hub farm) and Social Cooperative Deobureo Haebom (childcare children and adolescents, facility disabled, etc.) △ Muju County Agricultural Corporation Soho Farmhouse Co., Ltd. (out-of-school youth, etc.) and Agricultural Corporation Farmers FNS Co., Ltd. (returning farmers and rural youth, etc.) △ Buan County Agricultural Corporation Ire Farm Co., Ltd. (elementary, middle, high school youth, local youth, etc.).

Among these, the ‘Wanju Social Economy Network,’ selected as a regional hub social farm, and the ‘Social Cooperative Deobureo Haebom’ and ‘Iksan Rural Village Research Association,’ selected as regional service communities that can hire separate coordinators, are generating high expectations for expanding social agriculture in the region and creating jobs through the employment of professionals.

Social agriculture is a new concept of rural social welfare in which socially vulnerable groups such as the disabled, elderly living alone, crime victims, perpetrators and victims of school violence, multicultural families, and young returning farmers promote and practice care, education, and employment through agricultural activities.

It is distinguished from existing social economy and healing agriculture by the policy beneficiaries and the purpose of the projects, and active research and demonstration are being conducted in academia and local governments.

Meanwhile, Jeonbuk Province is sparing no support in developing Jeonbuk-type social agriculture and discovering prospective social farms, including enacting the ‘Jeollabuk-do Social Agriculture Promotion and Support Ordinance,’ the fourth of its kind nationwide.

Jeonju=Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Han-ho stonepeak@asiae.co.kr

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