S. Korea is Largest User of Farm Chemicals Among OECD Members: Local Report

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

SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) — South Korea is the largest user of farm chemicals among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported on Thursday.

According to a report by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, local farmers used an average of 13.1 kg of fertilizers and pesticides for every hectare of arable land, higher than 12.9 kg used for every hectare in 2006.

The report, which was submitted to the National Assembly, also showed that the country used 12.4-13.1 kg of chemicals per hectare in the 2001-2007 period, which is much higher than the 8.00 kg 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.

The report also showed local farmers using more antibiotics than foreign livestock growers.

In 2006, a South Korean cattle rancher used 0.75 kg of antibiotics for every 1 ton of animal raised. This is 37 times greater than 0.02 kg used by a Australian rancher.

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