농업･농촌에 대한 2017년 국민의식 조사 결과

Abstract

올해도 우리 농업계를 돌아보면 고병원성 조류인플루엔자와 살충제 달걀 파동 등으로 축산물 소비가 위축되었고, 쌀 가격 하락으로 어려움에 처했지만 선제적인 쌀 시장 격리를 통해 가격이 전년 대비 18% 회복되기도 하는 등 농정 현안이 산적한 한 해였다. 또한 기록적인 폭염과 여름철 집중호우 등 기상재해도 속출해 농작물 피해 최소화 방안 등의 과제를 안겨주기도 하였다.

이런 가운데서 새 정부의 출범과 함께 농업･농촌 및 식품산업 발전 5개년 계획 수립, 농정의 패러다임 전환과 농업의 혁신성장을 위한 다양한 정책들이 시행되어 일정 부분 성과를 거두었으며, 농업의 공익적 가치를 헌법에 반영하기 위한 범시민운동이 확산되기도 하였다.

한국농촌경제연구원은 올해도 ‘농업･농촌에 대한 국민의식 조사’를 실시하여 국민들의 농업･농촌에 대한 의식변화와 농산물 시장 개방 확대에 따른 소비심리 변화, 농업 관련 현안들에 대한 견해를 파악하고자 하였다. 조사결과는 연구과제 선정과 연구수행에 참고하고, 농업･농촌에 대한 국민적 공감대 확산을 위한 여론 형성과 정책지원 활동에도 활용할 계획이다.

조사는 2017년 10월 30일부터 11월 30일까지 실시하였으며, 도시민 1,500명과 농업인 936명 등 국민 2,436명이 참여하였다.

The Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI) has conducted a public opinion survey on agriculture and rural areas at the end of each year targeting KREI local correspondents and urban citizens in order to identify demand for research and support establishing policies based on changes in awareness. The survey of 2017 was carried out from October 30 to November 30 among 2,436 respondents including 1,500 urban people and 936 farmers. A mail survey was conducted for farmers, and a professional research company was commissioned to visit and interview urbanites. On the importance of agriculture in the national economy, a positive response, "Agriculture will be important in the future," maintained a high level of about 70%, although the response has been on the decline both among farmers and urban people since 2011. Among the functions of agriculture and rural areas, both urban people and farmers positively recognized "contribution to conserving the environment and the ecosystem" (farmers 7.07 points, urban people 6.61 points) and "stable supply of food" (farmers 6.81 points, urban people 6.88 points). As for the social perception of agriculture compared with other industries or jobs, 62.7% of urban people and 29.3% of farmers thought the perception was "positive." It was revealed that farmers themselves had a negative perception of agriculture. On all items (rice, livestock products, fresh vegetables, and fruit), the majority of urban people responded that the competitiveness of domestic agricultural and livestock products is "higher" than imported products. The respondents evaluated that the most competitive item is fresh vegetables (71.3%), followed by livestock products (Korean beef) (65.5%), rice (58.9%), livestock products (pork) (56.3%), and fruit (53.0%). Seventy percent of urban people responded that the public interest value of agriculture and rural areas is "high." However, 53.8% of urban people were willing to pay additional tax to maintain the value. A high percentage of urban people considered rural areas as "places that preserve nature and rural landscapes and are good to rest in" but "places that lack welfare facilities including cultural, health care, and educational facilities." And 51.3% of urban people were in favor of increasing the budget for enhancing welfare for rural residents. Among urban people, 44.1% wanted to return to farming or rural areas after retirement. The urban residents hoped to return to farming or rural areas for rural life rather than in economic aspects. As for the time, 57.9% of urban people responded, "no concrete plan"; 23.9% "after 10 or more years"; and 11.8% "within 10 years." This result shows that systematic plans are not being established for returning to farming or rural areas. Urban people pointed out "quality" (91.4%) as the most important consideration in purchasing food, followed by "price" (87.7%) and "geographical origin" (69.9%). In case of more agricultural market opening, urban people responded that they would "purchase high-quality agricultural products" (41.4%), "purchase imported agricultural products if domestic ones are more expensive" (34.4%), and "purchase domestic agricultural products even if they are more expensive than imported ones" (24.2%). Concerning the food safety issues such as livestock diseases and the egg contamination scandal this year, 86.2% of farmers and 85.6% of urban people responded that the issues would affect the future consumption of domestic agricultural and livestock products. On the effect of the recently emerging fourth industrial revolution technologies on agricultural development, 50.4% of farmers and 58.3% of urban people responded that the effect is "high." Regarding the minimum wage increase, 88.0% of farmers and 82.9% of urban people responded that it influences the agricultural sector. As to Korea's future supply and demand of food, 67.7% of farmers and 53.7% of urban people thought the supply and demand unstable. The survey result indicates that farmers are more concerned about the future supply and demand of food than urban people are. Only 17.6% of farmers responded that they were "satisfied" with their job. The biggest reason for dissatisfaction was "low income for efforts" (60.4%). Farmers pointed out "labor shortage" as the biggest factor threatening farm management (16.6%). On whether to live in rural areas in the future, 84.6% of farmers responded that they would "continue to live in rural areas." Concerning satisfaction with the present rural life, "satisfied" farmers accounted for 40.7%, about double the proportion of "dissatisfied" farmers (21.0%).

Researchers: Song Seonghwan and Park Hyejin Research period: 2017. 1. ~ 2017. 12. E-mail address: song9370@krei.re.kr, frog78@krei.re.kr