As damage from heat waves, high water temperatures and drought spreads across farming and fishing communities, the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation and the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives have moved to strengthen on-the-ground support. Suhyup, as the fisheries federation is known, is rushing insurance payouts by deploying loss adjusters to affected sites, while NH Nonghyup is pursuing a federation-wide response covering livestock farm cooling, crop sunscald prevention and heat illness protection for farmers.
As of Wednesday, Suhyup had received 69 reports of high-water-temperature damage under its aquaculture insurance program, with total losses tallied at 1.6 billion won ($1.12 million), the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives said Thursday. By region, Jeju accounted for 23 cases involving flatfish, South Gyeongsang Province logged 14 mullet cases, South Jeolla Province reported 13 cases involving flatfish and rockfish, the Chungcheong provinces recorded 10 cases of rockfish and mullet losses, and North Gyeongsang Province had 9 cases involving flatfish and flounder.
High-water-temperature alerts are currently in effect for major aquaculture zones along the coasts of Jeju and the western and southern seas, where water temperatures have remained at or above 28 degrees Celsius for three or more consecutive days with no relief in sight. A prolonged high-temperature period could accelerate die-offs of farmed fish and push losses higher.
Suhyup Chairman Noh Dong-jin visited a flatfish land-based aquaculture farm in Seogwipo, Jeju, on Wednesday to assess the damage. Noh met with members of the Jeju Fish Farming Cooperative to hear about conditions on the ground and discussed measures to support recovery and help farms return to normal operations.
Suhyup plans to conduct intensive checks on aquaculture households enrolled in its insurance program through its nine regional offices nationwide, using smart equipment including underwater drones to monitor damage in real time. Loss adjusters have already been dispatched to affected sites to expedite claims investigations and speed up insurance payouts.
Earlier, when the high-water-temperature crisis alert was raised to the most serious level in late July, Suhyup established an emergency task force and began providing recovery, financial and retail support to aquaculture farms.
"We will mobilize every available resource to minimize losses for aquaculture fishers and do everything we can to help them get back on their feet as quickly as possible," Noh said.
The following table summarizes the heat wave and high-water-temperature response measures by NH Nonghyup and Suhyup:
Category | Details Suhyup aquaculture insurance claims | 69 cases, 1.6 billion won Jeju | 23 flatfish cases South Gyeongsang Province | 14 mullet cases South Jeolla Province | 13 flatfish and rockfish cases Chungcheong provinces | 10 rockfish and mullet cases North Gyeongsang Province | 9 flatfish and flounder cases NH Nonghyup cooling shelters | 5,927 locations Heat-relief supplies | 320,000 neck coolers, about 1 million fans Farmer support items | About 1 million onion juice packets, 200,000 heat-safety guideline leaflets
NH Nonghyup has also launched a joint response to reduce heat wave and drought damage. NH Nonghyup Central Federation, NH Agri Business Holdings and affiliated organizations are expanding on-site inspections and emergency support for livestock farms, fruit orchards, reservoirs and farmer rest facilities.
Ahn Byung-woo, chief executive of the livestock economy division at NH Agri Business Holdings, visited a livestock farm in Boseong, South Jeolla Province, on Tuesday to review heat-response measures. NH Nonghyup plans to operate a "livestock economy integrated situation room" through the end of this month to continuously monitor farms vulnerable to heat stress and provide rapid support when damage occurs.
A mobile sprinkler service using joint pest-control vehicles will also run daily. Livestock farms will receive heat-stress reduction agents, vitamins, probiotics and mineral blocks, while NH Feed will supply barn sprinkler systems, special nutritional feed, and summer supplies including cooling vests, hats and bottled water. NH Mokwuchon also plans to distribute vitamins and amino acid supplements.
NH Nonghyup has also stepped up its response to crop damage. Kim Ju-yang, chief executive of the agricultural economy division at NH Agri Business Holdings, visited sweet persimmon and pear farms in Gimhae and Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday to inspect sunscald damage — the scorching of fruit and leaves caused by intense sunlight and radiant heat. NH Nonghyup said it would provide sunscald prevention agents, water pumps and agricultural disaster recovery kits to affected farms.
The rural support division of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation also visited farms and reservoirs in Gimhae, Miryang and Changwon in South Gyeongsang Province on the same day to check on agricultural water supply, pump support, the condition of major crops and the operation of heat-relief shelters.
Support to prevent heat illness among farmers continues as well. NH Nonghyup is operating 5,927 cooling shelters through agricultural and livestock cooperatives nationwide and distributing 320,000 neck coolers and about 1 million fans. About 1 million onion juice packets and 200,000 copies of heat-safety guidelines are also being handed out to visiting farmers.
"Minimizing losses for farmers and livestock producers struggling under record heat and drought is our top priority," NH Nonghyup Chairman Kang Ho-dong said. "We will move quickly to deliver field-centered responses and practical support."
adastra@heraldcorp.com
