Foreign workers who had to fight against extreme heat and cold in greenhouses due to restrictions on building accommodations in agricultural promotion areas will now be able to secure a place to rest.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 7th that it will legislate a revision of the ‘Agricultural Land Act Enforcement Decree’ that relaxes regulations on constructing worker accommodations in agricultural promotion areas, with a legislative notice period from the 8th to the 19th of next month.
Under the current system, it was not possible to install worker accommodations or heat/cold shelters in agricultural promotion areas. There were calls for improvements in the system at the site, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs amended the enforcement decree to allow worker accommodations to be installed in processing and handling facilities for agricultural and fishery products, or on sites for distribution facilities, up to 20% of the facility area.
The system was also reorganized to allow agricultural workers to carry out safe farming activities against natural disasters like extreme heat and cold by installing heat and cold shelters in agricultural promotion areas.
The restrictions on the installation area of facilities related to the agricultural industry will also be relaxed. The area standards for processing and handling facilities for agricultural and fishery products were expanded from less than 1.5 hectares (ha; 1 ha is 10,000 square meters) to less than 3 ha, and the area standards for rural experience and leisure villages were doubled from less than 1 ha to less than 2 ha. The area restrictions for tourist farms were eased from less than 2 ha to less than 3 ha.
In addition, rural specialized districts will be added to areas and zones where the authority for land conversion from agricultural use is delegated to local governments, such as public housing districts and urban development areas. Rural specialized districts refer to areas designated to efficiently develop, utilize, and preserve rural spaces or to regenerate and enhance the functions of rural areas as living, working, and resting spaces.
This enforcement decree is expected to be implemented in the first half of the year following public opinion collection after the legislative notice.