Farming Population Drops by 30%

By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter

The number of Koreans working in the agricultural and fisheries sectors has declined by one-third over the past 25 years as people in rural areas moved to cities for higher income and a better life. The average age of farmers and fishermen is now higher amid low birthrates and rapid population aging, making farming and fishing less labor productive and profitable.

According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) Wednesday, the number of farmers and fishermen stood at 3.4 million in 2005, accounting for 7.3 percent of the total population. It marks a sharp decrease from 10.8 million in 1980 when almost one out of three Koreans were engaged in the sector.

The statistical office projected that the number will further decline to 2.6 million in 2015 and 2.3 million in 2020. With the declining farming population, the number of households has dropped to 1.27 million in 2005, down from an all-time high of 2.48 million in 1970.

``The number of people in rural areas decreased rapidly over the years because of the nation's swift industrialization and urbanization. On top of falling rural population, farmers and fishermen have become older as most young people move to cities, leaving their parents and grandparents behind,'' an NSO official said.

He projected the trend will continue unless younger people either return to or stay in rural areas as the older generation pass away. In 2005, people aged over 65 accounted for 29.1 percent of the rural population, up sharply from 6.7 percent in 1980.

Meanwhile, the agricultural and fisheries industries accounted for 3.3 percent of Korea's gross domestic product (GDP), substantially lower than manufacturing's 28.4 percent and the service sector's 67.8 percent, according to the statistical office.

The nation produced 7 million tons of grain in 2005, accounting for only 0.3 percent of the global total of nearly 2.3 billion tons. The Korean government offered a $1.8 billion subsidy to farmers three years ago, equivalent to about 5 percent of the agricultural and fisheries output that year.

Thirty member economies of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) provided a total of $130 billion to farmers in various subsidies, accounting for 15.5 percent of their combined agricultural production.

Forests amounted to 6.27 million hectares, occupying 63.5 percent of Korea's landmass, while South and North Koreas traded various forest products worth $29 million in 2006, up from $6.4 million in 1993.

Korean fishermen caught 1.64 million tons of fish in 2005.

leehs@koreatimes.co.kr

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