New Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Lee Gae-ho began work last Friday, ending five months of an administrative vacuum.
Farmers' expectations of Lee are high, as the new minister has executed agricultural policy over the past three decades at both central and provincial governments. The former two-term lawmaker is also well-deserving of the portfolio, as he sat on the National Assembly Agriculture, Livestock and Fishery Committee in 2016 and 2017.
In his inaugural ceremony, Minister Lee rightly stressed the need to revitalize rural communities by introducing smart farming and doubling the number of farmers under 40 from the present 11,000, or 1.1 percent of the total farming population, to 2 percent within a decade.
Lee, 59, also vowed to provide sufficient support for farming and food industries, stabilize produce prices, create more jobs in rural areas and manage agricultural and livestock products more safely. The problem is how.
The new minister had to rush to farming villages reeling under the unprecedented heat wave upon appointment, which symbolically pointed to the urgency and mountains of unfinished tasks facing him.
Above all, Lee ought to hurry in coming up with ideas for long-term agricultural policy. One of the easiest ways to do so is to fulfill President Moon Jae-in's campaign pledges for rural voters. Among them was the setting up of a specialized agency for farmers and fishers, improving distribution channels for farm products and enhancing the welfare of people engaged in primary industries.
Based on the Moon administration's agricultural philosophy, Lee should not only set up a primary policy direction but also present a detailed roadmap. Fifteen months have passed since President Moon took office. As five months of the period was wasted amid the absence of the top agricultural policymaker, Lee should start from the ground up.
We hope the veteran administrator will quickly work out mid- and long-term plans for the sustainable growth of rural communities and do his best to put his boss' election promises into action.