친환경 농산물 인증제도 개선방안

Abstract

국민의 소득수준 향상과 먹거리의 안전성에 대한 관심이 증가하면서 친환경농산물에 대한 수요가 급격히 증가하고 있다. 2006년 우리나라의 친환경농산물의 시장규모는 약 1조 3천억 원 정도로 추정되고 있으며, 친환경농산물 생산량도 100만 톤이 넘는다. 친환경농산물에 대한 생산과 수요가 빠르게 증가하고 있지만 친환경농산물의 인증제도 및 인증체계 가운데 인증종류와 인증기간 등에서 개선이 필요하였다. 이에 정부는 대내외적인 여건변화를 반영하여 2007년 친환경농업육성법령을 개정함으로써 친환경농산물 인증제도를 일부 보완하였다. 2007년에 개선된 친환경농산물 인증제도는 인증종류, 인증기간, 인증신청 범위와 같은 단기적인 과제를 개선하였지만 여전히 국제적인 기준과 조화되지 못하고 있다. 더욱이 WTO 및 DDA와 FTA 등으로 인하여 농산물의 시장개방화가 확대됨에 따라 외국의 유기농산물이나 유기식품원료와의 국제경쟁도 불가피할 것으로 예상되는 가운데 국내제도와 국제기준의 조화도 필요한 실정이다. 이 연구는 친환경농산물 인증제도의 실태분석과 농가 및 전문가조사, 해외의 사례조사를 기초로 친환경농산물 인증제도의 중장기 개선방안을 제시하는 데 목적을 두었다.

This study is designed to draw up long-term improvement measures for the certification system of Environmentally-Friendly agricultural products. For the purpose, this study analyzed domestic and international certification systems and standards. Also, this study conducted a survey to collect opinions of producers and experts about Korean certification system. Chapter 2 summarizes the characteristics of the Korean certification system for Korean Environmentally-Friendly agricultural products. A certification system is generally needed to solve the information asymmetry in the Environmentally-Friendly agricultural products. In fact, an open and above-board system increases consumer welfare. The certification system of environmentally-friendly agricultural products has been introduced since the enactment of the Environmentally-Friendly Agriculture Promotion Act in 1997 and has been revised twice since then. However, there are areas which still need to be improved in terms of system management and the system itself. Chapter 3 shows the certification results of environmentally-friendly agricultural products and describes the survey results submitted by producers and experts. The chapter contains their opinions on the certification system of environmentally-friendly agricultural products certification system. The certification of environmentally-friendly agricultural products has grown rapidly since the 1990s. The portion of low chemicals in the certification results, in particular, hit 63% in 2006. Also, the imports of fresh organic agricultural produce which are raw materials for organic processed products have been increased. The survey results show that experts have relatively high satisfaction with the classification system of certified produce(organic, no chemicals, and chemicals), the scope expansion of certification, the term of validity for a certification, and the notification system of the list of organic agricultural materials on the list; however, they have relatively low satisfaction with disunited systems and confusion with other quality indication systems. Second, the overall satisfaction of producers on the current system is lower than that of experts and it is also different among different production types-low chemicals, no chemicals, and organic. Organic producers have relatively low satisfaction on the revised certification system compared to low-chemical producers. Chapter 4 introduces overseas organic standards and systems in terms of a certification standards, labeling, and management. The overseas cases include the cases of IFOAM, CODEX, the U.S., the EU, Japan, and Australia. The study compares the Korean standard and system with overseas standards and systems and points out differences among them to give an example for improving the Korean certification system. Chapter 5 presents long-term measures to improve the Korean certification system for environmentally-friendly agricultural products to harmonize it with international systems and improve consumer confidence on the environmentally-friendly agriculture. First, the Environmentally- Friendly Agriculture Promotion Act and the Agricultural Products Processing Industry Promotion Act should be unified. Second, in terms of managing the system, 1) the operations of certification agencies should be clearly defined and separated, 2) the supervision system after the certification should be consolidated by ensuring the independence of inspectors and by refining their qualification requirements, of them, 3) the product differentiation should be induced in the market by introducing self-imposed certification fees among certification bodies, and 4) the current voluntary certification system for distributers and handlers should be changed to a mandatory system so that a consistent certification system that covers the varying stages of industrial cycle from the production to the processing and marketing of environmentally-friendly agricultural products could be established. Researchers: Shin, Yong-Kwang and Hwang, Yun-Jae E-mail Address: ykshin22@krei.re.kr, yjhwang@krei.re.kr