The Public — Oh Hong-ji, reporter: Farming organizations in Chungbuk criticized both the provincial government and the provincial assembly, urging them to restore agricultural funding and establish a farm-input support system.
On the 12th, the Chungbuk Agricultural Organizations Council demanded that Chungbuk Province immediately restore the budget it cut from the Rice Growers' Farm Management Stability Support Program and enact an Essential Farm Inputs Support Ordinance to address soaring farm-input prices.
The council said rising labor costs and higher prices for fertilizer and fuel have pushed production expenses sharply upward, while farm-gate prices for agricultural products have not kept pace, leaving many farms in a precarious financial position.
They added that recent international conflicts involving the U.S., Israel and Iran have driven up global oil prices, causing duty-free diesel prices to spike by nearly 20% and, in turn, raising the costs of fertilizer, pesticides and feed — further increasing farmers' burdens.
The council noted that several local governments, including Gangwon, Chungnam and Jeonbuk, have already enacted Essential Farm Inputs Support Ordinances to protect farmers, and that Goesan, Okcheon and Jincheon counties in Chungbuk have proactively adopted similar measures.
But the council criticized Chungbuk Province for increasing its 2026 main budget overall by 7% year-on-year — a total rise of 502 billion KRW (approximately 376.5 million USD) — while cutting the Agriculture Bureau’s budget by 22 billion KRW (approximately 16.5 million USD) and reducing the Rice Growers' Farm Management Stability Support Program by 1.4 billion KRW (approximately 1.05 million USD).
The groups said the province promised to restore the cuts through a March supplementary budget after farmers protested, but they accused the government of delaying implementation and pointing instead to a second supplementary budget.
They also raised concerns that the Okcheon County rural basic income pilot — which requires more than 26.5 billion KRW annually in provincial funding (approximately 19.9 million USD) — might be financed by reallocating existing agricultural funds rather than by increasing overall agricultural spending.
The council demanded immediate restoration of the Rice Growers' Farm Management Stability Support Program budget, passage of an Essential Farm Inputs Support Ordinance, urgent relief measures to offset farm-input price spikes tied to international conflicts, and additional general-fund support for the Okcheon rural basic income pilot project.
The Chungbuk Agricultural Organizations Council pledged to remain united and continue pressing for measures to protect farmers' livelihoods and ensure the long-term sustainability of agriculture in Chungbuk.
