Icheon City Achieves #1 Position in Gyeonggi Province for "Successor Farmer Selection" for Third Consecutive Year

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Eom In-yong] Icheon City has recorded the top position in Gyeonggi Province for the third consecutive year with the highest number of successor farmer business managers (hereinafter referred to as successor farmers) selected for the 2025 successor farmer development support project.

Including 86 farmers in 2023, 114 in 2024, and 60 in 2025, a total of 260 successor farmers have been produced over the three-year period, which is the largest scale in Gyeonggi Province.

Successor farmer cultivation is a key project to address rural depopulation, decline in agricultural population, and aging. To further strengthen this, Icheon City is operating the nation's first program that provides additional 'young farmer (young farm) settlement support fund' to young successor farmers aged 18 to 45.

In particular, this year, 'farm management settlement support funds' were provided to 107 young startup-type successor farmers to support stable settlement, and 16 rounds of network education were conducted for 155 farmers to strengthen the capabilities of future farmers.

Through this approach, the city simultaneously pursued substantial settlement foundations for young farmers and enhancement of expertise beyond simple selection.

Successor farmers are selected in two types: young startup-type and general-type. Those who maintain successor farmer status for five years are given eligibility to apply as outstanding successor farmers.

Successor farmer recruitment is conducted annually in December (announcement) and January (recruitment), outstanding successor farmer recruitment is in March to April (announcement and recruitment), and Icheon City's young farmer (young farm) settlement support fund is announced and accepted in January to February.

The city plans to operate pre-education for prospective successor farmer applicants in accordance with the establishment of guidelines from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs next year.

Promotion will be conducted through the Agricultural Technology Center's Farming Technology Division 'Text Dream Service,' Icheon City website, and Eup/Myeon/Dong Administrative Welfare Centers, and applications will be processed through on-site registration at the Agricultural Technology Center on the day of education.

Park Jong-in, Director of the Agricultural Promotion Division, stated, "Successor farmer cultivation is a future measure for vibrant agriculture," emphasizing the importance of human resource development, and added, "We hope for the interest and participation of many farmers and prospective farmers in pre-education and the successor farmer challenge."