December 29, 2010

 

South Korea seeks to adopt permits to regulate livestock industry

 

 

South Korea will strive to launch a new permit system to better regulate the local livestock industry, which has been affected by frequent outbreaks of animal diseases, the government said on Monday (Dec 27).

 

In a 2011 policy report to President Lee Myung-bak, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said there is a critical need to tighten control over the livestock sector and increase awareness of farmers.

 

Under the plan, farmers will be asked to obtain permits or licenses after being trained on how to properly protect livestock from diseases.

 

The system can permit authorities to revoke licenses if a person fails to follow proper precautions and enable outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) to take place throughout the country.

 

Since the first case of a recent FMD outbreak was confirmed on November 29, quarantine authorities have discovered 56 cases in four provinces and have ordered more than 443,000 animals to be culled and buried to prevent the spread of the disease. This is the worst FMD outbreak to take place in the country, with losses estimated at about KRW400 billion (US$349.5 million).

 

Under the new plan, farmers will also be obligated to report overseas trips and take extra precautions to decontaminate themselves and their belongings to prevent outbreaks.

 

"Failure to follow such rules can result in fines of below five million won (US$4,369) or jail sentences of less than a year and forceful closures of farms," the ministry said.

 

It emphasised that farms responsible for causing outbreaks may not get full compensation for the animals that are destroyed.

 

The ministry also said that starting next year, more actions will be taken to assist local farm to stabilise product prices that have a direct impact on everyday lives and inflationary pressure.

 

"The government and the national farm cooperative will seek to create adequate food reserves by securing harvests through pre-arranged contracts with growers, while changes to existing laws are to be made to permit the government to step in if there is a surge in prices," the ministry said.

 

An increase in fresh farm product prices in the past few months due to bad weather has been cited for triggering inflationary concerns.

 

Seoul also intends to offer support to 100,000 new farmers, who have received up-to-date training on agriculture and marketing, and will be expected to lead the industry in the future.