ID :
24738
Thu, 10/16/2008 - 09:09
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/24738
The shortlink copeid
Former President takes lead as South Korea goes organic
(ATTN: photos available)
By Edward Targett
BONGHA, South Korea, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- Roh Moo-hyun is talking about ducks.
It's not the sort of topic one expects to hear the former CEO of Asia's fourth largest economy discussing, but Roh is not your usual ex-president.
Several U.S. heads of state have been involved in farming, from noted agronomist
Thomas Jefferson to peanut farmer Jimmy Carter. Even George W. Bush is fond of
clearing brush on his ranch.
Most Korean presidents, by contrast, tend to assume the quiet life of the elder
statesman on leaving office, ensconced behind the gates of an imposing home in
Seoul.
However, Roh, a blunt-spoken former human rights lawyer who has always ploughed
his own furrow, decided on leaving office in February that he would continue to
do so.
This time, literally; hence the ducks. For Roh has gone organic.
They are an old farmer's trick in the rice fields. Ducklings are introduced to
the paddies three weeks after planting and kept there until the plants start
flowering about four weeks later. Foraging in the growing rice fields for insects
and weeds that plague the crop, the ducks also excrete manure that is a rich
fertilizer for the rice plants.
When the former president retired to his tiny hometown village of Bongha, about
450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, after a turbulent presidency, he promptly set
about starting an organic grower's cooperative alongside 13 of the area's
farmers.
The others initially took a little persuading that it was not a terrible mistake.
Korean rice is already expensive compared to imported grain, and the current
organic crop is expected to sell, solely online, at a premium of around 30
percent over its conventional variant.
They were soon convinced.
"Korean rice cannot compete with foreign rice in terms of price alone,??? Roh
says forcefully in a rapid-fire exchange outside his house, where around 300
people gathered to hear his almost daily impromptu speech on a recent
Saturday.???It has to be differentiated in terms of quality and cleanliness.???
Small-scale Korean rice farmers are struggling, despite government subsidies.
Korea partially liberalized its rice market under World Trade Organization rules
in 2004 and has faced calls from the U.S. to open the market further to imports.
The issue initially hampered talks on a free trade agreement between the allies,
finally signed by Roh in 2007. (Rice remains excluded from the deal, which has
yet to be passed by either of the countries???legislatures.)
Now, eight hectares, or 80,000 square meters of the grain are almost ready to
harvest, and Roh is waxing lyrical over the anticipated crop of 32 tons,
tentatively branded "Bongha-ori-ssal," or Bongha duck rice.
"Consumers are really mistrustful of foodstuffs in general at the moment, and
looking for a safe and trustable product. Our rice is going to be just that," Roh
says with an emphatic gesture.
Amid a global financial crisis, it seems an odd time to be singing the praise of
organic food, seen by many as a luxury item and quickly jettisoned by most
consumers when times are tough.
Roh disagrees.
???Mistrust of foodstuffs is so high. This is a major environmental as well as
social issue given the importance of food and its production and I think
consumers are willing to take the extra financial step for the sake of quality
food. Polluting runoff from rice farming also carries dissolved pesticides into
the water system, for example.???
Korean consumers are becoming increasingly careful about what goes on the dinner
table. A massive outbreak of bird flu swept through the country this spring,
leading to the culling of millions of birds. A political storm over the restart
of U.S. beef imports amid alleged danger of mad cow disease followed, and most
recently the harmful chemical melamine was found to have made its way into a
range of snacks and instant coffee, prompting people to read the labels on their
food like never before.
The manager of one of Seoul's few organic food stores claims that sales have
increased sharply in recent months.
???We've generally served a fairly tight group of regular customers,??? says
manager Park Sun-eui, 33, at the Eco Co-op in Seoul's Sajik neighborhood.???But
we's been seeing a lot of new interest over the past few months, and our regular
customers are even more regular.???
???I'm sure Roh's product is going to sell like hot cakes,??? she says with a laugh.
Others, like Han Seung-wook, a 28-year-old employee of a foreign business
consultancy in Seoul have more mixed feelings on Roh's project.
Organic food is frankly only for the rich,??? Han says. ???It's becoming more
popular in Korea but it's so expensive still. It does look like it's becoming a
middle class trend though.???
Bongha village's other farmers are watching carefully how sales would go. About
50 of them are in discussions with Roh to join the cooperative and could open
another 80 hectares of paddies for organic crops if the grain flies off the
shelf.
With a former president as its figurehead and an influx of volunteers (as well as
ducks) to the village, Bongha farmers no doubt believe their venture will
succeed. Up to 100 people from Roh's fan club ???Nosamo??? show up in the village
on any given weekend, keen to participate in the overall greening of the village
which their political mentor has set as his task.
"When I first came back to the village, it was littered with rubbish,??? Roh said
disgustedly. "Household rubbish, industrial rubbish, you name it. There are also
lots of small factories upstream from the rivers that feed the rice paddies here
and the river water was filthy. The residents started exposing this issue and
things have improved a great deal since.???
The extent of the urbanization that has taken place in Korea has ensured that the
countryside is often populated primarily by the very elderly. The size of rice
paddies has also shrunk rapidly, down 26 percent over the past 20 years, and Roh,
apparently motivated both by genuine environmental concern and also a touch of
nostalgia for his childhood days "when there were so many grasshoppers, birds,
fish in this village??? is keen for Bongha to become a guiding light for the
revitalization of other small towns in Korea's rural areas.
Whether such villages can manage without the star power Bongha wields remains to
be seen, but the rice crop, the first of what looks to be many -- as Roh claims
to have no plans of moving back to the hustle and bustle of Seoul -- is ready to
harvest and many await the final product.
As the foreign consultant firm worker, Han, puts it. ???We tried his presidency,
with mixed results. We might as well give his rice a shot too.???
jedtargett@yna.co.kr
(END)
By Edward Targett
BONGHA, South Korea, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- Roh Moo-hyun is talking about ducks.
It's not the sort of topic one expects to hear the former CEO of Asia's fourth largest economy discussing, but Roh is not your usual ex-president.
Several U.S. heads of state have been involved in farming, from noted agronomist
Thomas Jefferson to peanut farmer Jimmy Carter. Even George W. Bush is fond of
clearing brush on his ranch.
Most Korean presidents, by contrast, tend to assume the quiet life of the elder
statesman on leaving office, ensconced behind the gates of an imposing home in
Seoul.
However, Roh, a blunt-spoken former human rights lawyer who has always ploughed
his own furrow, decided on leaving office in February that he would continue to
do so.
This time, literally; hence the ducks. For Roh has gone organic.
They are an old farmer's trick in the rice fields. Ducklings are introduced to
the paddies three weeks after planting and kept there until the plants start
flowering about four weeks later. Foraging in the growing rice fields for insects
and weeds that plague the crop, the ducks also excrete manure that is a rich
fertilizer for the rice plants.
When the former president retired to his tiny hometown village of Bongha, about
450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, after a turbulent presidency, he promptly set
about starting an organic grower's cooperative alongside 13 of the area's
farmers.
The others initially took a little persuading that it was not a terrible mistake.
Korean rice is already expensive compared to imported grain, and the current
organic crop is expected to sell, solely online, at a premium of around 30
percent over its conventional variant.
They were soon convinced.
"Korean rice cannot compete with foreign rice in terms of price alone,??? Roh
says forcefully in a rapid-fire exchange outside his house, where around 300
people gathered to hear his almost daily impromptu speech on a recent
Saturday.???It has to be differentiated in terms of quality and cleanliness.???
Small-scale Korean rice farmers are struggling, despite government subsidies.
Korea partially liberalized its rice market under World Trade Organization rules
in 2004 and has faced calls from the U.S. to open the market further to imports.
The issue initially hampered talks on a free trade agreement between the allies,
finally signed by Roh in 2007. (Rice remains excluded from the deal, which has
yet to be passed by either of the countries???legislatures.)
Now, eight hectares, or 80,000 square meters of the grain are almost ready to
harvest, and Roh is waxing lyrical over the anticipated crop of 32 tons,
tentatively branded "Bongha-ori-ssal," or Bongha duck rice.
"Consumers are really mistrustful of foodstuffs in general at the moment, and
looking for a safe and trustable product. Our rice is going to be just that," Roh
says with an emphatic gesture.
Amid a global financial crisis, it seems an odd time to be singing the praise of
organic food, seen by many as a luxury item and quickly jettisoned by most
consumers when times are tough.
Roh disagrees.
???Mistrust of foodstuffs is so high. This is a major environmental as well as
social issue given the importance of food and its production and I think
consumers are willing to take the extra financial step for the sake of quality
food. Polluting runoff from rice farming also carries dissolved pesticides into
the water system, for example.???
Korean consumers are becoming increasingly careful about what goes on the dinner
table. A massive outbreak of bird flu swept through the country this spring,
leading to the culling of millions of birds. A political storm over the restart
of U.S. beef imports amid alleged danger of mad cow disease followed, and most
recently the harmful chemical melamine was found to have made its way into a
range of snacks and instant coffee, prompting people to read the labels on their
food like never before.
The manager of one of Seoul's few organic food stores claims that sales have
increased sharply in recent months.
???We've generally served a fairly tight group of regular customers,??? says
manager Park Sun-eui, 33, at the Eco Co-op in Seoul's Sajik neighborhood.???But
we's been seeing a lot of new interest over the past few months, and our regular
customers are even more regular.???
???I'm sure Roh's product is going to sell like hot cakes,??? she says with a laugh.
Others, like Han Seung-wook, a 28-year-old employee of a foreign business
consultancy in Seoul have more mixed feelings on Roh's project.
Organic food is frankly only for the rich,??? Han says. ???It's becoming more
popular in Korea but it's so expensive still. It does look like it's becoming a
middle class trend though.???
Bongha village's other farmers are watching carefully how sales would go. About
50 of them are in discussions with Roh to join the cooperative and could open
another 80 hectares of paddies for organic crops if the grain flies off the
shelf.
With a former president as its figurehead and an influx of volunteers (as well as
ducks) to the village, Bongha farmers no doubt believe their venture will
succeed. Up to 100 people from Roh's fan club ???Nosamo??? show up in the village
on any given weekend, keen to participate in the overall greening of the village
which their political mentor has set as his task.
"When I first came back to the village, it was littered with rubbish,??? Roh said
disgustedly. "Household rubbish, industrial rubbish, you name it. There are also
lots of small factories upstream from the rivers that feed the rice paddies here
and the river water was filthy. The residents started exposing this issue and
things have improved a great deal since.???
The extent of the urbanization that has taken place in Korea has ensured that the
countryside is often populated primarily by the very elderly. The size of rice
paddies has also shrunk rapidly, down 26 percent over the past 20 years, and Roh,
apparently motivated both by genuine environmental concern and also a touch of
nostalgia for his childhood days "when there were so many grasshoppers, birds,
fish in this village??? is keen for Bongha to become a guiding light for the
revitalization of other small towns in Korea's rural areas.
Whether such villages can manage without the star power Bongha wields remains to
be seen, but the rice crop, the first of what looks to be many -- as Roh claims
to have no plans of moving back to the hustle and bustle of Seoul -- is ready to
harvest and many await the final product.
As the foreign consultant firm worker, Han, puts it. ???We tried his presidency,
with mixed results. We might as well give his rice a shot too.???
jedtargett@yna.co.kr
(END)
