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The government has mobilized agencies across multiple ministries to protect farmers and foreign workers as a record heat wave and drought persist in the southern regions. The Korea Forest Service is deploying drones and water-spraying vehicles to rural areas, midday farm work is being strongly discouraged, and support for cooling equipment and emergency water supply is being expanded to limit damage to livestock and crops.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced Thursday that it is strengthening its heat wave and drought response in coordination with the Korea Forest Service, the Rural Development Administration, the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, local governments and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation.
A total of 361 people — including five fatalities — have been treated for heat-related illness in rice paddies, fields and greenhouses in rural areas so far this year. Livestock insurance claims show that about 688,000 animals have died from heat exposure. The government warned that casualties could rise further if the heat wave continues.
Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryeong visited a heat-relief shelter operated by the Gapyeong-gun branch of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation in Gyeonggi Province on Thursday to inspect heat wave response conditions for farmers and foreign workers. It was her fourth on-site inspection, following visits on June 19, July 2 and July 29.
Song urged farms employing foreign workers to take extra care to prevent both human rights violations and heat-related harm, and asked the workers themselves to follow heat illness prevention guidelines — including drinking enough water and resting in the shade.
The ministry plans to continue on-site inspections by the minister, vice minister and director-general-level officials until the heat wave subsides. A total of 14 inspections have been conducted across 13 regions to date, including four by the minister or vice minister.
This year, for the first time, the ministry is working with the Korea Forest Service to deploy wildfire-prevention drones and water trucks for rural heat wave response. From July 29 through Aug. 4, the effort included 73 drone surveillance flights, 236 public address broadcasts, 69 water-spraying operations, 47 work-suspension advisories and 51 distributions of heat-prevention supplies.
The Rural Development Administration is also deploying 1,149 heat illness prevention officers and 88 farm safety managers to the field. A special inspection team of 408 people drawn from the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation and the Korea Rural Community Corporation is conducting intensive checks on greenhouse facilities, livestock watering systems and agricultural water supply conditions across 152 cities and counties nationwide.
The government is running an intensive management period from early to mid-August specifically to protect foreign seasonal workers from heat-related harm. The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Employment and Labor and local governments are conducting joint inspections of heat wave response conditions, and multilingual safety guidelines and reporting instructions are being sent by text message. Banners and campaigns are being rolled out nationwide carrying two key messages: outdoor work must stop immediately between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. during a heat wave, and forcing foreign workers to perform outdoor labor during those hours is illegal.
Support to reduce damage to livestock and crops is also being expanded. Livestock farms are receiving cooling equipment, heat-stress relief agents and heat-blocking coatings, and a mobile water-spraying service — which dispatches trucks directly to vulnerable farms rather than waiting for applications — is being scaled up. For crops, the government is providing nutrients and pest control support, while areas facing water shortages are receiving emergency water deliveries using tanker trucks, water tanks and pumps.
The government has completed stockpiling 15,000 tons of cabbage and 6,000 tons of radish, and has secured 2.5 million cabbage seedlings as a contingency against heat wave damage.
Drought response in the southern regions is also being stepped up. Reservoir levels in the south currently stand at 52 to 73 percent of normal, and 50 cities and counties — concentrated in South Gyeongsang Province, South Jeolla Province and North Jeolla Province — are under drought management.
The government is supplying agricultural water through 73 reservoir replenishment sites, 525 riverbed excavation points, 77 temporary pumping stations and 11,930 mobile pumps. Twenty-two Korea Forest Service wildfire response vehicles have also been mobilized to deliver 500 tons of water per day, and an additional 2.1 billion won ($1.47 million) has been allocated for emergency water supply measures including riverbed excavation.
"We will mobilize all available resources together with the relevant agencies to minimize damage from the heat wave and drought," Song said. "We will strengthen field surveillance, inspections and campaigns, and pursue preemptive drought countermeasures to minimize losses in the agricultural sector."
adastra@heraldcorp.com
