Fostering Young Farmers for Rural Generational Change... Continued Expansion of Support for Young Farmers

With the inauguration of the Lee Jaemyung administration, agricultural policies focused on fostering young farmers are expected to be actively pursued. Fostering young farmers is considered important for the sustainability of agriculture, prevention of rural depopulation, securing food security, and strengthening innovation and competitiveness in the agricultural sector.

Previously, President Lee Jaemyung, during his candidacy, pledged to "cultivate future agricultural talent, including youth, women, professionals, and joint farming organizations." He also emphasized, "We will introduce a retirement pension system for farmers and expand the farmland transfer retirement direct payment system to facilitate a stable generational transition."

Specifically, the "Young Farmer Agricultural Settlement Support Program," which provides up to 1.1 million won per month for up to three years to young farmers experiencing unstable income in the early stages of farming, will now also include prospective farmers. In addition, a training system will be introduced to provide preparatory funds for those in training, and after completing the training, support will be provided for employment at corporations and farms.

Policies are expected to shift from the existing focus on supporting incoming young farmers to expanding support both before and after starting a farm. This includes introducing a prospective farmer system, expanding participation in joint farming, and establishing region-specific development frameworks.

The importance of fostering young farmers has also been emphasized by the previous administration. In March of last year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced the "Strategy for Responding to Rural Depopulation," expressing its intention to transform rural areas into "creative spaces where youth, innovators, entrepreneurs, and farmers gather."

Support is also being provided for "youth-led agricultural and rural business startups" to promote job creation and economic revitalization using rural spaces and resources. To encourage rural business startups that utilize both tangible and intangible rural resources, including smart agriculture, a package of financial support and housing is being offered. When innovative companies with relevant technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) wish to conduct technology demonstrations in rural areas, rural spaces are provided as testbeds using shared village resources, along with support for office and residential spaces.

Measures are also being pursued to meet the diverse rural location needs of youth and entrepreneurs by easing regulations. The government is gradually lifting restrictions on small agricultural promotion areas of 3 hectares or less, which are estimated to total 21,000 hectares nationwide. Restrictions on the use of privately owned forest land, where the original designation purpose has been lost due to environmental changes, are being lifted. In depopulated areas, the scope of local government ordinances to ease forest land use permit standards has been expanded from the previous 10% to 20%.

Such policies are continuously being improved to reflect the voices of young people. In February of this year, following a meeting with young farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs abolished restrictions on off-farm employment for young farmers receiving settlement support payments.

An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs stated, "This improvement to the program significantly relaxed the requirements for off-farm employment, which were revised in November 2024, considering the need for stable income for young farmers in the early stages of farming." The official added, "Regardless of receiving support payments or mandatory farming requirements, off-farm employment will be allowed as long as young farmers continue their agricultural activities."

Support for young people starting smart farms (Smart Farm) is also expected to be strengthened. President Lee has pledged to expand Smart Farm youth startup incubation centers and establish shared equipment centers for smart agriculture.

The government is already supporting young farmers starting smart farms. In December of last year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs selected two local governments?Yangyang County in Gangwon Province and Jeju City in Jeju Province?for the "2025 Regional Specialized Lease-Type Smart Farm" project.

To support smart farm startups, four lease-type smart farms have been established and operated within Smart Farm Innovation Valleys nationwide, allowing young farmers to lease them for up to three years to gain crop cultivation experience. In addition, a total of 13 regional specialized lease-type smart farms have been operated or constructed outside the Innovation Valleys, with two more being added through this latest selection.