농업·농촌에 대한 2013년 국민의식 조사 결과

Abstract

농업을 둘러싼 대내외 여건 변화에 국민들은 어떻게 상황을 인식하고 있고 어떤 정책을 주문하고 있는지를 파악하여 정책연구에 반영하고 이를 기초로 정책을 수립하여 시행하는 것은 실효성을 제고시킨다는 측면에서도 중요한 일이다.

한국농촌경제연구원은 이같은 이유로 매년 말 농업·농촌에 대한 국민의식조사를 실시하여 발표하고 있다. 특히, 이번 조사는 조사문항을 재설계하여 주요 지표의 변화를 일정한 간격으로 측정할 수 있도록 하였으며, 타 산업 분야의 조사결과와도 비교할 수 있는 문항을 추가함으로써 다양한 측면에서 분석과 활용이 가능하도록 하였다.

조사는 2013년 10월 하순부터 약 한 달간 도시민 1,500명, 농업인 552명 등 2,052명이 참여한 가운데 방문면접과 우편으로 실시되었다. 조사내용은 도시민과 농업인의 농업·농촌에 대한 가치 인식, 농촌생활에 대한 의식 변화, 농업정책에 대한 수요를 중심으로 실시하였다.

The 2013 Public Opinion Survey on Agriculture and Rural Villages was conducted to 1,500 urban people and 552 farmers through face to face interviews and mail surveys for a month from October 2013 for research.

According to the survey, farmers’ dissatisfaction factors in farming were the increase in production costs and the decrease in incomes. Their demand for the measures to stabilize income was big. They considered labor shortage, the expansion of FTAs, and the increase in production costs as factors threatening management. Practical solutions are needed to address their big demand for labor in particular.

As for tax benefits for farmers, 34.1% of urban people were positive, more than twice negative answers (15.4%). Also, 50.1% of city people agreed to the increase in budgets for rural welfare, about 4 times those who opposed (12.9%).

29.9% of urban people and 24.8% of farmers were satisfied with the government’s new agricultural policy paradigm, of which the basis is the establishment of happy farming and fishing villages. In both groups, those satisfied outnumbered those dissatisfied (11.0% of city people and 20.1% of farmers).

Among the directions of the new agricultural policy, the highest expectation of farmers was on welfare policies (36.4%), followed by income policies (32.6%), consumption and distribution (24.8%), and agricultural policies (22.1%).

Among the 5 major tasks of agricultural polices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), farmers considered stable incomes of customized farms most important, while a stable supply of safe agrifood was most important for urban people.

On the creative economy including the 6th industrialization, 48.0% of farmers didn’t know the contents well. It means that education and publicity should be strengthened. About the most important policy issue in 2014, farmers said that it was the Korea-China FTA, followed by the improvement of the distribution structure of agricultural products, the end of the rice tariffication delay, and the increase in the MAFRA’s budget, showing much interest in policy issues.

48.4% of urban people and 34.6% of farmers were satisfied with the residential environment, more than those dissatisfied (22.3% of farmers and 8.3% of urban people).

We measured the city people’s and farmers’ happiness levels of 5 areas including home life and health, and converted the happiness index to 100 points. The farmers’ index was 67, and the urban people’s index 70, somewhat higher than the Gross National Happiness Index surveyed before.

Researchers: Dong-Weon Kim, Hye-Jin Park Research period: 2013. 1. ~ 2013. 12. E-mail address: dongweon@krei.re.kr