Yongin City Reduces Farming Burdens Starting May with Agricultural Machinery Rental Service

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun] Yongin City, one of the representative urban-rural composite cities in Gyeonggi Province, is launching an agricultural machinery rental business as the farming season approaches.

According to the city on the 21st, to address issues stemming from aging populations and labor shortages in rural areas and to help each farm maintain competitiveness, it will rent out 38 types of agricultural machinery totaling 177 units.

Any Yongin City resident or person holding farmland within the city can rent equipment after completing online safety training.

Agricultural machinery can be rented Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but during busy periods such as planting and harvesting from March to June and the harvest season in October to November, rentals are also available on Saturdays.

The city also aims to provide agricultural machinery transportation services starting next month, recognizing that farmers renting machinery face transportation difficulties.

Agricultural machinery that can fit in a one-ton truck, such as cultivators, can be rented and returned for 10,000 won round trip, while larger machinery such as tractors that require larger trucks can be rented and returned for 20,000 won round trip.

The city expects that by reducing the burden on farmers without transportation vehicles or those living far away, more farmers will be able to rent agricultural machinery.

A city official said, "We hope many farmers can comfortably rent and use agricultural machinery during busy farming periods," and added, "We will continue to explore various support measures so that farms within the city can increase productivity and maintain competitiveness."

Meanwhile, Yongin City has been preparing various support policies for improved agricultural productivity and farmer convenience.
A representative example is the Yongin City Agricultural Machinery Rental Office, which opened in 2015.

Because agricultural machinery is expensive, it is difficult for individuals to purchase and use it. This is why each local government rents agricultural machinery or subsidizes purchase costs.

The city rents agricultural machinery such as farm tractors, fertilizer spreaders, cultivators, and potato planters, receiving strong positive response from farmers.

The city has reduced rental fees by 50% for farmers facing economic difficulties due to COVID-19.

Rental fees ranged from 10,000 won to 210,000 won depending on machinery purchase price, but over the past two years, farmers have been able to use them for 5,000 won to 105,000 won.