Govt. to provide cash assistance to livestock farmers affected by FTA play
Arirang News | FEB 29, 2012
Govt. to provide cash assistance to livestock farmers affected by FTA
play
Hwang Sung-hee
Korean livestock farmers will receive cash assistance from the government if the price of their products drop after a free trade agreement comes into effect.
This is one of the latest measures laid out by the agriculture ministry on Wednesday to ease concerns among local farmers about the possible impact of the Korea-U.S. FTA that will come into effect on March 15th.
Korea’s agriculture sector is one of the most vulnerable sectors to FTAs, as they will open up the Korean market to cheaper meat and dairy products from overseas.
Under the new plan, the government will compensate up to 90 percent of the losses that farmers see if the price of a product drops by more than 10 percent after an FTA goes into effect.
And the government will also support those who choose not to raise livestock in the future.
If an FTA drives a farmer out of business, he will be eligible to receive monetary compensation equivalent to the amount he would have earned for three years.
The government has allocated 1-billion won, roughly 880-million U.S. dollars for a support center to help local farmers and fishermen, which is scheduled to open early next month.
Reporter : ssung86@arirang.co.kr
