National Farmland Census

A nationwide survey examining ownership and use status, cultivation status, and idle or illegally converted farmland across all farmland in the country.

National Farmland Census

Overview

The National Farmland Census (농지 전수조사) is a nationwide survey that comprehensively verifies the ownership and use status of every farmland parcel across the country. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, local governments, and the Korea Rural Community Corporation work together to cross-check farmland registers and cadastral maps against field survey results, thereby identifying actual cultivation status, idle farmland, illegal conversion, and ownership by foreigners or corporations. As the quantitative decline of farmland and speculative ownership have become more serious, its policy importance has grown by the day.

Key Details

Background

Farmland area has steadily declined from approximately 2.3 million ha in the 1970s to around 1.5–1.6 million ha in the 2020s.
As exceptions to the principle of "land to the tiller" (耕者有田, gyeongjayujeon) have expanded, farmland ownership by non-farmers, corporations, and foreigners has increased.
Problems of farmland degradation—such as neglected idle farmland, illegal soil filling and construction, and unauthorized conversion—have emerged as social issues.
Farmland-related statistics were managed differently by each local government, leaving a shortage of accurate nationwide data needed for policy design.

Legal Basis and Survey Entities

It is grounded in the farmland ownership and use status survey provisions of the Farmland Act (「농지법」) and the national approved statistics system under the Statistics Act (「통계법」).
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is the lead agency, with collaboration from metropolitan and provincial governments, cities, counties, and districts, the Korea Rural Community Corporation, the Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation, and the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service.
Cross-verification is carried out in connection with cadastral and land register information from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Survey Methods

Actual cultivation status is first confirmed through the interpretation of satellite imagery, aerial photographs, and drone footage.
Cadastral maps, farmland registers, agricultural business entity registration information, and direct payment records are cross-checked.
On-site verification, interviews with owners and cultivators, and postal and online surveys are conducted in parallel.
Survey results are built into a GIS-based database and managed at the parcel level.

Main Survey Items

These include owner information, area and land category for each parcel, crops actually cultivated, fallow or idle status, lease relationships, whether facilities are installed, ownership by foreigners or corporations, and records of farmland conversion or changes in land characteristics.

Use of Results

Idle farmland is databased and used for Farmland Bank purchases and leases and for supplying land to young farmers and startup farmers.
For parcels suspected of illegal conversion or speculation, administrative and judicial measures such as farmland disposal orders are linked.
They serve as basic data for policy design, including reform of farmland ownership and use regulations, farmland pensions, the rice production adjustment system, and reform of the direct payment system.
They are also used as verification data for eligibility for agricultural policy funds and subsidies.

Limitations and Issues

As a full census, it requires enormous costs and manpower, and concerns are raised about refusal to respond and invasion of privacy.
Errors in satellite imagery interpretation and mismatches between owners and actual cultivators remain.
Differences in survey capacity among local governments and inadequate follow-up management have at times led to controversy over the reliability of results.

Latest Trends

In 2024–2025, with the introduction of AI-based automatic satellite imagery interpretation and remote sensing technology, survey cycles are being shortened and accuracy is improving. As climate change response and carbon neutrality policies intersect, demand has grown to newly grasp farmland use conditions, such as agrivoltaics and the creation of carbon sinks. Calls to disclose the status of farmland ownership by foreigners and corporations are expanding, and discussions are under way on upgrading farmland use in line with responding to local extinction and the transition to smart agriculture. In addition, along with institutional reform discussions over whether to ease the land-to-the-tiller principle, the opening of farmland data and disclosure through the public data portal are also expanding.