Chairman Kim Byung-won of the National Agricultural Cooperatives Federation won the Korea Reform Management Award at the 19th Management Related Academics Integrated Academic Conference, with the main theme being Strategies to Boost Businesses’ Competitive Power in the Age of the 4th Industrial Revolution. The plenary session of the event opened on Aug. 22 at the Gwangju Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province.
The “Inspiring Insight in Creative Business Society” issued papers on the NACF chairman’s vision and achievements to show how he came to win the award.
Chairman Kim always believed that the NACF is responsible for the lives of 50 million people in Korea. The NACF has always been there, with its 2.25 million members working independently and cooperatively to boost the economic, social and cultural positions of the agricultural community, upgrade the quality of their lives through the strengthening of the agricultural sector and thus contributing to the national economy’s balanced development.
All over the country, 1,131 regional farms, are run under Korea’s only central cooperative with 32 affiliates to provide easy financial services, and at the same time safe and fresh edible things.
Chairman Kim made up his mind to lead the NACF in the people’s best interest. He wants to raise the average income from the current 37 million won to 50 million won.
NACF’s reforms will continue to be centered on farmers, agriculture and livestock, so that agriculture will be a growth engine in the age of the 4th Industrial Revolution.
Kim’s ambitious target is based on a six-point plan, the first being the building of a foundation with changes and reform. He recalled that a vision NACF of the people with agricultural people happy. He said NACF declared 100 tasks for reform to recover its “just identity” through the reform of the central cooperatives and balanced development of farm and livestock sectors.
The second target is for everyone at the NACF to do their best to achieve the farm household annual average income target of t50 million won. He said they were able to cut farm production costs and other expenses substantially. The price of fertilizer, for example, was cut 17 percent. The price of feed fell 6 percent, while the price of farm equipment also fell. The interest rate on farm-related loans also was down 0.64 percent. Efforts to cut the production expenses of rice have also been made, to the tune of some 2.003 billion won.
In order to take care of an oversupply of rice, some 1.6 trillion won in government funds was provided to buy 1.8 million tons of rice. Ten billion won was invested to rearrange the rice harvest and set up 30 ha for a test farm to grow rice seedlings.
Third, the NACF has been at work to stabilize the prices of vegetables, including horse radish, cabbage and green onions.
Fourth, the NACF set up the NACF Future Farm Support Center to act as a bridgehead for the development of creative farm management systems and more added value.
Fifth, the NACF also had its hand in setting up 2,229 producer organizations to do some 2.331 trillion won worth of business.
The NACF strengthened its marketing for large marts across the country to sell more local farm produces. As a result, some 500 billion won worth of farm products were sold.
Sixth, the NACF will hold consultations with farm and livestock owners. There should be at least 800 consultations with farms and live stock breeders so they would be able to specialize their businesses and boost their earnings.
The NACF will spend some 7.48 trillion won by 2026 to spur the economic activities of its operations.
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