[Changes Next Year] Returning to Farming, Decide After Trying... Owners of Dangerous Dogs Required to Have Insurance

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyun-jung] Next year, the government will support trial living experiences for those wishing to return to farming or rural areas, and will also promote a spatial improvement project to create desirable rural living environments. Owners of dangerous dogs will be required to subscribe to liability insurance, and a 'veterinary nurse' system will be implemented to provide high-quality animal medical services.

On the 28th, the government published a booklet titled 'Changes Starting from 2021' containing these details.

◆Enhancing Rural Competitiveness... Pension Insurance Premium Subsidies Increased= The core of the newly introduced rural-related policies next year is 'strengthening competitiveness.' The 'Rural Spatial Improvement Project' is a representative example.

This project aims to improve the quality of life for rural residents and comprehensively enhance rural spaces and living conditions in preparation for increased demand for rural residence following the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a pilot project supporting local governments in establishing improvement plans by zoning rural spaces according to use such as residential, industrial, and livestock farming, tailored to regional conditions. To systematically manage rural spaces, spatial analysis to identify current status and issues, as well as education and consulting for integrated regional development stakeholders, will also be conducted. Detailed plans including pilot project schedules, eligibility criteria, and support methods will be announced later.

Additionally, a trial program will be supported to allow people to experience agricultural and rural life before deciding to return to farming or rural living. This helps those who wish to return to farming or rural areas but feel burdened due to lack of information or experience by enabling them to experience rural life for up to six months. Programs reflecting regional characteristics for experiencing rural life will be provided, and those who participate diligently for more than 15 days per month will receive a monthly training allowance of 300,000 KRW. Applications for this program will be accepted through the Return-to-Farming and Rural Living Comprehensive Center website after finalizing detailed implementation plans.

Furthermore, to stabilize the retirement life of agricultural cooperatives members, the pension insurance premium subsidy will be increased from the current 43,650 KRW per person per month to 45,000 KRW. Also, the daily wage for agricultural helpers supporting stable farming activities of vulnerable farming households affected by accidents or illnesses will be raised from 70,000 KRW to 80,000 KRW. The government will cover 70% of the labor cost, and the farming households will bear 30%.

Moreover, the four Smart Farm Innovation Valleys currently under construction will be sequentially completed and are expected to operate from the second half of next year. The youth startup incubation centers within the innovation valleys will provide practical, hands-on field education specialized in smart farming for young people (lasting 20 months). After completing the incubation center program, young farmers will be supported to start farming by renting smart farms within the innovation valley at reasonable rental fees. The smart farm demonstration complexes will establish greenhouses and facilities/equipment for demonstrating smart farm-related technologies, and set up support centers for smart farm equipment companies and research institutions to provide office conveniences to resident companies.

A housing environment improvement project for foreign female workers in the agricultural sector will also be implemented. The core idea is to allow them to use remodeled accommodations in vacant houses or other idle facilities. This will be piloted in one local government next year, with detailed information to be announced later.

◆Accelerating Innovation in Agricultural and Livestock Product Distribution Structures= The government is also focusing on innovating the distribution structure of agricultural and livestock products. First, to successfully establish regional food plans such as expanding public meals using local food and to manage stable supply of ingredients, a public meal integrated platform will be built. Considering that the scope of public meals is expanding beyond school meals to include kindergartens, daycare centers, military, social welfare facilities, and public institutions, the platform will support systematic management of food, and connections between suppliers and consumers. The platform will be established next year and services will be provided from 2022.

A nationwide integrated trading system for production areas will also be created to reduce distribution costs and improve logistics efficiency for agricultural products. The existing offline face-to-face wholesale distribution of agricultural products will be expanded to ICT-based non-face-to-face online transactions. After pilot applications this year for onions, garlic, and apples, it will be extended to major vegetables and fruits next year. Using digital information such as photos and videos to verify products, transactions will be concluded online, and products will be directly delivered to the buyer's desired location. The expansion of related items will be applied from the second half of next year.

The same applies to livestock products. To improve face-to-face transactions vulnerable to livestock infectious diseases, the government plans to provide online videos and grading information for livestock products (cattle, pigs), and buyers (intermediate wholesalers, retailers, etc.) will be able to participate in auctions online through a face-to-face transaction system. Infrastructure will be established next year, and pilot introduction will begin in 2022.

A 'contract cultivation project for legumes and cereals' will also be implemented to expand the consumption base of domestic legumes and cereals, ensuring stable sales channels for farmers and stable supply of uniformly quality agricultural products for actual demand companies. Detailed plans will be announced later.

◆Advancing Animal Welfare... Strengthening Responsibility= From February 12 next year, owners of dangerous dogs will be required to subscribe to liability insurance that compensates for damage to others' life, body, or property caused by dangerous dogs. The dangerous dogs referred to here include five breeds and their mixed breeds: ▲Dosa dog ▲American Pit Bull Terrier ▲American Staffordshire Terrier ▲Staffordshire Bull Terrier ▲Rottweiler.

In response to increasing demand for animal nursing personnel, a 'veterinary nurse' system will be introduced to create professional jobs and provide high-quality animal medical services.

Previously, private organizations issued animal nursing-related certificates, but a veterinary nurse certificate will be newly established and issued to those recognized by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. However, after procedures such as the veterinary nurse qualification exam, certificates will be issued starting in 2022. The revised provisions will take effect from August 28 next year.

Also, to increase animal registration rates, animal sellers will be required from February 12 next year to apply for registration of animals subject to registration under the buyer's name when selling to buyers other than business operators.

Additionally, through this booklet, the government introduced that from next year ▲poultry farms with more than 50,000 laying hens must receive professional disinfection and pest control through quarantine hygiene managers, ▲a self-support fund project will be introduced for the traditional liquor industry, and ▲support will be provided for the transition from traditional to digital breeding methods for seed companies.