S. Korea is largest user of farm chemicals among OECD members: report

SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is the largest user of farm chemicals among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development members, a government report submitted to parliament showed Thursday.

The findings forwarded by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries ahead of the parliamentary audit revealed local farmers used an average
of 13.1 kilogram of fertilizers and pesticides for every hectare of arable land.
This it said is an increase from 12.9 kilograms used in 2006, despite efforts by
many farmers to resort to eco-friendly food growing techniques.
The report based on data compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
also showed that the country used 12.4-13.1 kilograms of chemicals per hectare in
the 2001-2007 period, which is much higher than the 8.00 kilograms used by the
Netherlands.
The Netherlands, a country with a well-developed agricultural base, ranked second
in terms of farm chemical use among the 29 countries examined, while Norway,
Canada and Finland, which came in last, used an average of 0.60 kilograms in the
cited period, or one-twentieth of the amount used by South Korea.
Ministry officials said that while the FAO estimate may not be exact, it is true
that local farmers used large amounts of chemicals ti raise produces.
"This is inevitable in a way since the land does not contain much organic matter
and because farmers have switched from rice to fruits, vegetables and flowers
that promises more profits," a official said.
The report, in addition, showed local farmers using more antibiotics than foreign
livestock growers.
In 2006, a South Korean cattle rancher used 0.75 kilograms of antibiotics for
every 1 ton of animal raised. This is 37 times greater than 0.02 kilograms used
by a Australian rancher.
The ministry said that efforts are underway to reduce antibiotic use in
livestocks, with such substances being banned from compound feed from 2010.