Jeonbuk Farmers' Group: "No Forced Reduction of Rice Cultivation Area"

Farmers' groups in Jeonbuk region have voiced strong opposition to the government's policy to reduce rice cultivation areas, stating it infringes on their farming rights. The government's goal is to reduce the rice cultivation area by 100,000 ha from the current level to 600,000 ha by 2029, with penalties for non-compliant farmers. However, the farmers argue that the problem of rice oversupply is being blamed on them and that importing rice does not affect the domestic market. They have demanded the immediate withdrawal of the policy and have threatened to launch a full-scale struggle against it.

“The government should immediately withdraw the mandatory rice cultivation area adjustment system that infringes on farmers’ farming rights.” Farmers’ groups in the Jeonbuk region have come out strongly against the government’s coercive policy to reduce rice cultivation areas. On the 13th, farmer groups including the Jeonbuk Provincial Federation of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation held a press conference in front of the Jeonbuk Provincial Office and strongly criticized, “The government is unilaterally pushing the rice cultivation area adjustment system,” and “The government has been deceiving the public by saying that the cause of the domestic rice oversupply is farmers and excessive farmland.” The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs recently announced a plan to reorganize the rice industry structure to resolve the structural oversupply of the rice industry, stabilize rice prices, and improve farm household income. Through this, the ‘rice cultivation ...