대한민국 뿌리 인사이트

[By Lee Woo-jung, Korea Farmers' Newspaper] Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Agricultural Technology Institute urged thorough preemptive control measures to prevent potato late blight damage from the end of June when the rainy season begins. Potato late blight is a fungal disease that frequently occurs under cool temperatures (10℃~24℃) and relative humidity over 80%. This year, the central region's rainy season is forecast to begin around June 25th. Accordingly, due to the high-temperature and humid weather conditions during the rainy season, the risk of late blight occurrence is significant, making advance preparation essential. To minimize damage, farmers should first inspect potato field conditions and apply protective fungicides before disease outbreak to prevent pathogen invasion.

According to the Korea Farmers and Fishermen's Newspaper, the enrollment rate for the expanded and reorganized Agricultural Income Stabilization Insurance this year has been low. For sweet potatoes, which transitioned to the main project and were first nationally applied for this year, the enrollment rate was only 9.2%. Tangerines targeting Jeju and Seogwipo recorded 1.3%, while spring potatoes sold in four South Chungcheong locations (Seosan, Taean, Buyeo, Hongseong) and four North Gyeongsang locations (Yeocheon, Sangju, Andong, Yeongju) were at 17.0%. This was actually a predictable outcome. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs had decided to convert the 'Agricultural Income Stabilization Insurance', which had been in pilot project stages for 10 years, into a main project this year, expanding its budget from 8.1 billion won to 207.8 billion won.

According to the Korea Farmers and Fishermen's News [reporter Lee Hyun-woo], the subscription rate for the Agricultural Income Stabilization Insurance, which has transitioned to its main project this year, has turned out to be quite low. Although the government has been encouraging enrollment since starting with spring potatoes in April, the field is experiencing difficulties. The Agricultural Income Stabilization Insurance is a policy insurance that compensates for damages not only from reduced harvest due to natural disasters, fires, and pests, but also from market price declines. It began as a pilot project in 2015, and this year, 9 items have transitioned to the main project while 7 items are being pilot-operated. Among the sweet potatoes that transitioned to the main project this year, only 1,397 hectares (418 farms) out of the total target area of 15,173 hectares have enrolled in the insurance.