Gochang-gun Selected as 'Best Institution' in Agricultural Machinery Rental Business Evaluation

Gochang-gun, Jeollabuk-do announced on the 5th that it was selected as the Best Institution in the ‘2023 National Agricultural Technology Center Agricultural Machinery Rental Business Evaluation.’

The 2023 Agricultural Machinery Rental Business Evaluation, hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, evaluated 436 agricultural machinery rental centers in 147 cities and counties nationwide.

Gochang-gun Agricultural Machinery Rental Office. [Photo by Gochang-gun]

In this evaluation, the county received high scores in three areas: rental business performance, participation in government policy projects, and staff work capabilities, earning the highest grade, A, for six consecutive years.

As a result, Gochang-gun secured a total of 230 million KRW in national and provincial subsidies related to the agricultural machinery rental business for 2024.

Currently, Gochang-gun operates four agricultural machinery rental centers with a total of 98 types and 1,014 units. As of November this year, 8,580 units of agricultural machinery were rented out, and 1,610 units were delivered free of charge. Weekend work was conducted during the harvest season, resulting in a 14% increase in rental performance compared to the previous year.

The county is reducing agricultural machinery rental fees by 50% until December to help alleviate the burden on farmers and support rural labor shortages.

Additionally, to address the inconvenience faced by farmers who experience difficulties in farming due to machinery breakdowns far from repair centers, the county provides on-site agricultural machinery repair services by visiting villages directly.

An official from the Agricultural Technology Center said, “We expect this to help resolve labor shortages during the harvest season and reduce farm management costs. We will not be satisfied with just being selected as an excellent city/county and will continue to make our best efforts to provide better services.”

Gochang = Kim Jae-gil, Honam Reporting Headquarters, Asia Economy baekok@asiae.co.kr