Progress on agriculture and rural normalization tasks as of end of July [Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs]
Progress on agriculture and rural normalization tasks as of end of July [Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs]

The government's "agriculture and rural normalization" initiative, aimed at rooting out unreasonable systems and practices in the farming sector, is beginning to show tangible results. Legal grounds have been established to block the dual-pricing of agricultural machinery, and metropolitan district mayors will now be able to recruit foreign seasonal workers — among a series of reforms that farmers can feel on the ground.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Monday it had achieved visible progress on 7 of the 39 normalization tasks tracked as of the end of July.

The ministry assembled a normalization TF in April, then added 30 tasks in June and 9 more in July, bringing the total to 39.

The most prominent change targets unfair trade in the agricultural machinery market. The ministry amended the Agricultural Mechanization Promotion Act last month to ban the so-called "dual pricing" practice, in which dealers charged higher prices to farmers receiving government policy loans. Companies found selling at dual prices will be barred from government support programs for up to two years.

The ministry also eased rules to address labor shortages during the farming season. Working with the Ministry of Justice, it revised related guidelines so that district mayors in metropolitan cities — previously excluded — can now apply to bring in foreign seasonal workers alongside city and county chiefs. Metropolitan districts will accordingly be able to deploy foreign seasonal workers during peak farming periods.

The system for designating "food artisans" — masters of traditional Korean food — was also overhauled. A fast-track designation procedure was introduced, cutting the time for a trainee to be officially recognized as a food artisan from about seven months to two, reducing gaps in the transmission of traditional culinary knowledge.

Inconveniences for livestock farmers were also addressed. The ministry expanded the number of institutions authorized to issue liquid fertilizer application prescriptions and rationalized soil testing standards to reduce prescription delays during the farming season. It also restructured the supply system for welfare facilities to allow deliveries of eco-certified rice in addition to the previously available white rice. The ministry said it is reviewing a plan to expand the supply of eco-friendly brown rice to welfare facilities from 2027.

Steps were also taken to close loopholes in existing systems. The ministry established unified inspection standards for illegal occupation and use of agricultural drainage ditches — previously managed separately by the Korea Rural Community Corporation and local governments — and strengthened enforcement, uncovering 3,477 violations in total. It also issued new regulations to ensure that tariff-rate quota benefits apply only to grain directly produced overseas, blocking abuse of the system.

"The national normalization project aims to correct unreasonable practices and institutional gaps in the field and create changes that people can actually feel," Park Soon-yeon, the ministry's director general for planning and coordination, said. "We will thoroughly monitor implementation to ensure normalization tasks translate into real results on the ground, and will continue to identify additional tasks."


adastra@heraldcorp.com