Minister Song Mi-ryeong of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said on the 29th, “We will significantly increase the government budget so that farmers can actively participate in the cultivation of alternative crops.”
On the same day, Minister Song visited a specialized production facility for dry-field soybeans in Haeng-an-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do, to make this statement.
Dry-field soybeans are a key item related to President Lee Jae-myung's pledge and the direction for revising the Grain Management Act, which was outlined at the government-party meeting on the 27th, focusing on the 'expansion of alternative crop cultivation.'
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs views the site as the best place to hear the most vivid opinions regarding the new government's national philosophy, agricultural policy direction, and the revision of the four agricultural laws, and therefore chose a dry-field soybean production facility as Minister Song's first field visit.
In order to stabilize rice supply and enhance food self-sufficiency, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs provides subsidies to farmers cultivating crops such as soybeans in rice paddies. However, farmers have claimed that due to issues with production bases, stable marketing channels, and disasters, it has been difficult to cultivate these crops.
On this day, farmers also suggested to Minister Song that “in order to ensure stable production of dry-field soybeans, improvements in drainage, support for stable marketing channels, disaster recognition, extension of insurance enrollment periods, and stable payment of purchase prices are necessary.”
Minister Song emphasized, “If major crops like soybeans are cultivated more in the fields instead of rice, we can simultaneously catch the two birds of 'stabilizing rice supply' and 'enhancing food security.'”
He added, “We will significantly increase the government budget to actively participate in the cultivation of alternative crops, and if excessive situations arise in rice farming, we will strengthen the responsibility for government purchases to ensure continuous stability in rice prices and discuss enough with the National Assembly to revise the Grain Management Act.”