The purpose of this research is to derive a detailed implementation program and core tasks for the promotion of environmentally-friendly agriculture in Gyeongbuk Province. The envisioned program would lead to increases in income and the enhancement of the quality of living of farming households based on comprehensive analysis of both the local characteristics of agriculture and the circumstances of rural community in Gyeongbuk Province.
This report presents the backgrounds and the need of the research and preceding researches in the Chapter One. Chapter Two describes the current status of environmentally friendly agriculture and the results of questionnaire surveys for farmers and officials in charge of agricultural policy in order to diagnosis of the circumstances of environmentally-friendly agriculture and evaluate the performance of the of the Second Five-year Promotion Plan for Environmentally Friendly Agriculture in Gyeongbuk Province. Chapter Three outlines the vision for the promotion of environmentally friendly agriculture in Gyeongbuk Province and its implementation strategy. Chapter Four suggests the core tasks for the promotion of environmentally friendly agriculture in Gyeongbuk Province from the aspects of production base, distribution and consumption, safety management system, processing and input materials, technology development and education, and agricultural resources management system. Chapter Five presents budget inputs for the promotion of environmentally friendly agriculture. Finally, Chapter Six presents a summary and conclusion.
The major results of this research are summarized as follows:
First, production technologies for environmentally friendly agricultural products were provided and a market for environmentally friendly agricultural products was secured as a main emphasis for the promotion of environmentally friendly agriculture. A questionnaire survey on the Third Five-year Promotion Plan for Environmentally-friendly Agriculture in Gyeongbuk Province was conducted of 78 farmers engaging in environmentally-friendly agriculture and 51 experts in agriculture. The result of the questionnaire survey targeted for farmers revealed the prevention of harmful insects (46.8%) and shortage of labor force (36.4%) as the bottlenecks for the production of environmentally friendly agricultural products and the securing of stable clients (55.5%) and selling price (25.3%) as the bottlenecks for selling.
Second, for the sustainable development of environmentally-friendly agriculture in Gyeongbuk Province a multilateral implementation strategy should be sought in order to facilitate the abolition of the certification system for low agricultural chemicals. In the event the certification system for low agricultural chemicals is removed in 2015, 33.3% of respondents indicated to choose 'the conversion to no agricultural chemicals and organic cultivation method', 55.6% indicated to choose 'the conversion to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)' and the remaining 11.1% indicated to choose 'the return to previous practice'. We can see here that approximately 67% of the certified farming households for low agricultural chemicals would give up the implementation of environmentally-friendly agriculture.
Third, the result of the survey revealed the items such as the expansion of the creation of wide area environmentally-friendly agriculture complex, which pursues resource-circulating agriculture where agricultural cultivation and livestock farming are linked, as core implementation tasks for the promotion of environmentally friendly agriculture in Gyeongbuk Province. In addition, in the field of creating a production base for environmentally- friendly agriculture the survey identified the preparation and distribution of a manual for the systematic supply of ecological agriculture cultivation technology, and the implementation of support for making energy using livestock manure as priority tasks.
Fourth, in the field of creating a production base for environmentally- friendly agriculture, the results revealed that it was necessary to make upward adjustment of the supporting unit amount of direct payments and to extend the supporting period, to implement a model project for organic agriculture insurance system, which mitigates the risk of farmers' income reduction, and to prepare effective measure for fruit growing farmers to cope with the removal of a low agricultural chemical certification system.
Fifth, in the field of distribution and consumption of environmentally friendly agricultural products, the results revealed that it was necessary to support educational institutions in metropolitan area as a part of budget for the purchase of environmentally friendly food materials in order to appropriately identify the market for the increment of environmentally-friendly agricultural products and to establish a general logistics center exclusively for environmentally friendly agricultural products to Youngnam (Gyeongnam and Gyeongbuk) Region.
Sixth, in the field of establishing an agricultural environmental resource management system, the results revealed that it was necessary to implement a model project for a aggregate nutritional content quantity system, which comprehensively controls for nutritional content of farmland at a provincial scale based on the result of nutritional content balance analysis for Gyeongbuk Province.
Seventh, in order for environmentally-friendly agriculture in Gyeongbuk Province to achieve an established level, it is necessary to collect the opinions of officers in charge of agricultural policy and farmers and to establish and implement a step by step promotion policy program that can be differentiated with those of other provinces and cities. Especially in order for the Third Five-year Promotion Plan for Environmentally-Friendly Agriculture to be able to accomplish the planned results, it is crucial that there is a special attention of the ultimate decision maker (governor and mayor) for the administration of Gyeongbuk Province on the promotion of environmentally-friendly agriculture as well as appropriate budgetary support for the established programs. In addition, it is necessary to prepare systematic methods for the sustained monitoring and the evaluation of performance on the programs for the promotion of environmentally friendly agriculture and incentive award plan for superior city and county units based on the evaluation of performance.
Lastly the performance objective of the Third Five-year Promotion Plan for Environmentally Friendly Agriculture of Gyeongbuk Province can be achieved if the perception of the citizens of Gyeongbuk Province on the promotion of environmentally-friendly agriculture is improved and the roles for the implementation of core tasks are appropriately assigned by pertinent subject. It is expected to significantly contribute to the enhancement of the quality of living of not only the citizens of Gyeongbuk Province, but also all Korean people if environmentally-friendly agriculture is firmly established as the growth engine for future agriculture in Gyeongbuk Province.


Researchers: Kim Chang-Gil, Jeong Hak-Kyun, and Jang Jeong-Kyung
Research period: 2011. 3. 〜 2011. 7.
E-mail address: changgil@krei.re.kr