S. Korea's arable land drops 1.4 pct in 2008

SEOUL, April 22 (Yonhap) -- The amount of arable land in South Korea declined
around 1.4 percent in 2008 from the previous year due to construction of new
roads, homes, factories and public facilities, a government report said
Wednesday.

The total size of the country's cultivated paddies and fields totaled 1.76
million hectares at the end of last year, down 18,215 hectares from 1.78 million
hectares tallied in 2007, said the report by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries.
On average, roughly 15,000 hectares of farmland have been diverted in recent
years for non-agricultural use, but state policies designed to promote balanced
regional growth have created more demand for land.
Seoul has been moving to build new urban areas that can become centers for public
administration and businesses. Easing of restrictions on land have also fueled
building of more factories on farmland.
The ministry, meanwhile, said the downward trend is partly due to the influx of
cheap imported farm products and a lack of workers in rural areas.
It added that if such reductions continue, the country may not be able to retain
the minimum 1.6 million hectares of arable land by 2020 that is needed to provide
at least 30 percent of the country's food requirements.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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