MUITI-FUNCTION ROLES IN PADDY-FIELD AND ON-FARM IRRIGATION

논과 포장관개의 다원적 역할

Despite the unfamiliar term "multifunctionality of agriculture" and the tremendous number of debates made over the past 10 years, multiple benefits from paddy rice farming in the Asian monsoon region are very significance due to the various inherent characteristics of paddy rice in this lesion. They were identified as rural vitalization, social security, nature and environmental preservations, and social and cultural functions. As studies estimating the monetary value of nature and environmental functions in Korea and Japan revealed, the economic value of multifunctionality from paddy rice farming reached to 70∼150% of total annual rice production cost of each country, and would have been even higher, had other functions been included. Therefore, interdisciplinary and international researches within the monsoon Asian countries are necessary to develop counter-measure logics against the Western dry land farming countries, emphasizing the efforts to disseminate worldwide the significance and recognition of the multifunctionality of paddy rice farming under the Asian monsoon climate.