늙은 농민의 하소연 [서울 말고]

There is no news of a strange weather event or drought this year. The dry farmland appears to be cracking open like dried clay, and the farmers are only making gurgling sounds. A mobile phone screen shows a message about agricultural water shortage, labeled as a “boundary” condition. In the village hall, the water rationing announcement is broadcasted daily.

Last year, a landslide and a dam burst overwhelmed the village hall and the farmland. A year has passed, but the slope and the stream are still not recovered. The ruined farmland has been barely tilled to prepare for planting. In early June, the unexpected rain made everyone feel like someone was pinching them and they were tense with anxiety.

However, this year is different as the scorching sun withers the crops and the people's livelihoods. The elderly farmer, now in his 70s, is desperately trying to farm with all his strength. However, he knows he cannot keep taking care of the fields forever. The local mayor, still in his late 70s, is reluctantly taking over the village farmland but feels it's reaching its limit.

Nowadays, modern farming is done by a few tractors and combines, and farmers do not want more equipment or more laborers. If they stop working, the highly rated vacant farmland will quickly become a weed-infested wasteland. The annual subsidy alone cannot be received. This year, the government is conducting a survey to prevent land speculation and manage farmland.

Land management under the Land Management Act, targeting farmland acquired since 1996, started with a preliminary survey in July last year and moved to a detailed survey from August. The government announced that they will target land suitable for speculation and manage the farmland. They thought only urban and well-off farmland were worth saving.

However, low-income rural farmland is worthless. Even if the land is handed over, it cannot be traded. Even if the land is handed over to the Korea Rural Community Corporation or a land bank, they only accept easily manageable farmland. Moreover, the thought of being classified as a high-risk area for transfer makes people hesitant to acquire land.

If they cannot use the land as planned, they may violate the Land Management Act. The reality of aging farmers and declining agricultural workforce is not just a problem of this year. In 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries will classify areas at risk of extinction based on agricultural statistics. In 2025, over half of the Korean farming population will be over 65 years old, with an average age of 67.7 years and only 1.1% of young farmers under 40.

Especially in Gyeongsangnam-do, the proportion of elderly farmers is even higher. As the number of elderly farmers increases, rural communities and agriculture are rapidly declining. The call for a vibrant rural community and national survival is becoming weaker and weaker. The government's "Rural Revitalization Year" aims to provide new solutions for rural revitalization.

Let's properly identify the situation in high-risk rural areas this time and find realistic solutions for aging farmers and rural preservation.