Annual Survey on Agricultural Employment Workforce Conducted

Special Support Act Effective from the 15th
Implementation Plans Established Annually Every 5 Years

From now on, an annual survey on agricultural employment manpower will be conducted, and a yearly implementation plan will be established and executed every five years.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 14th that the "Special Act on Support for Agricultural and Fishery Employment Manpower," aimed at systematically fostering and supporting agricultural employment manpower, will be enforced starting from the 15th.

Following the enforcement of the law, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will establish and implement a basic plan (every 5 years) and yearly implementation plans, and conduct an annual survey on agricultural employment manpower. Additionally, to promote projects such as workforce training and human rights protection, improvement of working conditions and awareness, support for the utilization of foreign employment manpower, and the establishment and operation of an integrated information system, two organizations will be designated and operated as specialized institutions for agricultural employment manpower support. The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NongHyup) will handle workforce training, labor management support, and human rights education and counseling, while the Korea Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will conduct surveys and support the establishment and operation of the integrated information system.

As the number of foreign workers in the agricultural sector increases, support for them will also be strengthened. To facilitate early adaptation of foreign workers, agricultural technology education videos and Korean life guidebooks will be produced in various languages, a human rights counseling office will be operated within NongHyup, and education and publicity to improve awareness of human rights protection and labor management will be enhanced.

Furthermore, starting this year, surveys will be conducted, and based on the results, basic plans will be established to support the expansion of assistance for regional and product-specific short- and long-term labor supply and demand, improvement of working conditions, workforce training, education, and awareness improvement.

Yoon Won-seup, Director of Agricultural Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated, "As employment in the agricultural sector gradually expands, interest in not only smooth labor supply but also improvement of working conditions is increasing. We will strengthen support for labor supply and working condition improvements based on thorough surveys of agricultural employment manpower."