Korea: Urban farmer program draws homemakers, retirees to address North Chungcheong’s rural labor shortages

Urban farmers are local, so they communicate easily with farm owners, and there’s no risk of them suddenly disappearing like some foreign workers might.
By Choi Jong-Kwon
JoongAnn Daily
Excerpt:
As North Chungcheong’s agricultural work force shrinks at an alarming rate, a new labor force has emerged from the city: homemakers and retirees who are trading idle hours for fieldwork and modest pay.
On a scorching Monday in Jeongbong-dong, Heungdeok District, Cheongju, six workers in their 60s and 70s bent over trays of lettuce seedlings inside a greenhouse. They had arrived before sunrise, armed with water bottles and sun hats, to beat the heat and earn 60,000 won ($44) for four hours of labor.
Among them was 65-year-old Song, who had traveled 20 to 30 minutes from central Cheongju. She and the others, all homemakers and retirees, were participating in North Chungcheong’s “urban farmer” program.
The initiative offers wages nearly 50 percent higher than Korea’s legal minimum hourly wage of 10,030 won. Urban farmers typically work in nearby greenhouses, fields or orchards, helping with tasks such as planting, harvesting or thinning.
“It’s hot these days, so we start at 5:30 a.m. and wrap up by 9:30,” Song said. “Farm work is tough, but since we only work four hours in the program, it’s manageable and really helps with household expenses.”
Nearby, Choi, 71, added, “If not for this, I’d just be at home cleaning or watching TV. Working here keeps me active and lets me earn money at the same time.”
Read the complete article here.
Source: https://cityfarmer.info/korea-urban-farmer-program-draws-homemakers-retirees-to-address-north-chungcheongs-rural-labor-shortages/
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