“작지만 강한 농협”…현산농협, 전국이 인정한 ‘농심천심’

작지만 강한 농협 / 사진제공=ai호남뉴스

[해남=AI호남뉴스] aihnnews@kakao.com
한때 합병권고 대상에 올랐던 해남 현산농협이 경영 정상화와 농업인 실익사업 확대를 거쳐 농협중앙회가 인정하는 ‘작지만 강한 농협’으로 성장했다.

현산농협(조합장 강성호)은 지난 3일 농협중앙회 전남지역본부에서 열린 정례조회에서 농협 창립 65주년 기념 ‘농심천심(農心天心) 특별상’을 수상했다.

농협중앙회는 창립 65주년을 맞아 농업·농촌의 가치를 확산하고 농심천심 운동을 적극 실천한 전국 범농협 사무소 73곳을 특별상 수상 대상으로 선정했으며 현산농협도 이름을 올렸다.

‘농심천심’은 농업인의 마음을 하늘처럼 여기겠다는 의미로, 농업인 실익 증진과 농촌 활력, 지역사회 상생 등 농협 본연의 역할을 강조하고 있다.

현산농협의 이번 수상은 지난 10여 년간 이어온 경영 정상화와 현장 중심 영농지원의 연장선에서 주목된다.

현산농협은 과거 경영 어려움으로 합병권고 대상에 포함됐지만 이후 경제·신용사업을 개선하면서 흑자경영 기반을 마련했다. 특히 2018년부터 2020년까지 농협중앙회 종합업적평가에서 3년 연속 해당 농촌형 그룹 전국 1위를 기록했다.

경영성과도 조합원에게 돌아갔다. 공개된 당시 자료를 보면 당기순이익은 2015년 2억2천여만원에서 2020년 5억1천여만원으로 증가했고, 조합원 이용고배당도 같은 기간 2,500만원에서 1억4천만원으로 확대됐다.

■ 현산농협의 또 다른 경쟁력은 농촌 현장에서 찾을 수 있다.
고령화와 인력난에 대응해 농작업 대행사업과 공동육묘장 운영을 확대하고 벼와 콩을 비롯한 농작물 생산을 지원해 농가의 노동력과 영농비 부담을 줄여왔다.
농자재 적기 공급과 계약재배, 농산물 수매·판매 및 판로 확대에도 나서면서 육묘·농자재→농작업→생산→수매·판매로 이어지는 영농지원 체계를 강화하고 있다.

이 같은 경영개선과 경제사업 확대를 바탕으로 현산농협은 2021년 합병권고 유예조합에서 벗어나며 독립적인 경영기반을 다시 다졌다.
2023년 조합장 선거를 통해 8년 만에 현산농협 경영에 복귀한 강성호 조합장도 ‘조합원이 주인인 농협’을 강조하며 현장 중심 경영을 이어가고 있다.

이번 농심천심 특별상은 단순히 농협의 외형이나 금융실적만을 평가하는 상이 아니라 농협이 농민과 농촌을 위해 어떤 역할을 하고 있는지를 평가한다는 점에서 의미가 크다.

다만 농협중앙회가 현산농협의 개별 항목별 평가점수와 세부 선정사유를 공개하지 않은 만큼 특정 사업 하나를 이번 수상의 직접적인 이유라고 단정하기보다는 그동안 축적된 농업인 실익사업과 농촌 활성화 노력이 종합적으로 평가받았다고 보는 것이 타당하다.

강성호 조합장은 “이번 농심천심 특별상은 조합원과 임직원이 함께 노력해 만들어낸 값진 성과”라며 “앞으로도 농심천심의 가치를 바탕으로 조합원들의 실익 증대와 복지 증진을 위해 혼신을 다하겠다”고 말했다.
합병을 걱정하던 농협에서 전국 최우수농협을 거쳐 농심천심 특별상까지.

현산농협의 변화는 농촌의 작은 지역농협이 살아남는 경쟁력이 단순한 규모가 아니라 ‘농민에게 얼마나 필요한 농협인가’에 있다는 점을 보여주고 있다.




“Small but Strong”…Hyunsan NongHyup Earns National Recognition with ‘Nongsim Cheonsim’
Receives ‘Nongsim Cheonsim Special Award’ marking NongHyup’s 65th anniversary for contributions to farmers and rural communities
Overcame a merger recommendation crisis to rank No. 1 nationwide in its rural category for three consecutive years from 2018 to 2020
Farm-work services and joint seedling nursery help ease labor shortages and reduce farming costs
Expands contract farming, agricultural product purchasing and sales, strengthening support from production to market
Chairman Kang Seong-ho: “We will devote ourselves to improving members’ benefits and welfare”
[Haenam=AI Honam News] aihnnews@kakao.com
Once facing a recommendation for merger due to management difficulties, Hyunsan NongHyup in Haenam has transformed itself through financial recovery and expanded farmer-focused services, emerging as a “small but strong” agricultural cooperative recognized by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF).
Hyunsan NongHyup, led by Chairman Kang Seong-ho, received the “Nongsim Cheonsim (農心天心) Special Award” at a regular meeting held on September 3 at the NACF’s regional headquarters.
The award was established to commemorate the 65th anniversary of NongHyup and recognize cooperatives that have actively promoted the value of agriculture and rural communities while putting the spirit of “Nongsim Cheonsim” into practice. A total of 73 NongHyup offices nationwide were selected, including Hyunsan NongHyup.
“Nongsim Cheonsim” conveys the idea that “the heart of farmers is the heart of heaven.” It represents NongHyup’s commitment to improving farmers’ livelihoods, revitalizing rural communities and promoting cooperation with local communities.
Hyunsan NongHyup’s latest recognition is particularly significant in light of its decade-long efforts to improve management and strengthen field-oriented agricultural support.
The cooperative was once placed under a merger recommendation due to financial difficulties. It subsequently improved both its economic and financial operations and established a foundation for profitable management.
From 2018 through 2020, Hyunsan NongHyup ranked No. 1 nationwide in its respective rural category in NongHyup’s comprehensive performance evaluation for three consecutive years.
The benefits of improved management were also returned to cooperative members.
According to publicly available data from the period, Hyunsan NongHyup’s net income increased from approximately KRW 220 million in 2015 to KRW 510 million in 2020, while patronage dividends paid to members rose from KRW 25 million to KRW 140 million over the same period.
Strength Lies in the Farming Fields
Another major strength of Hyunsan NongHyup can be found directly in the farming community.
To address the growing challenges of an aging rural population and chronic labor shortages, the cooperative has expanded farm-work support services and a joint seedling nursery, assisting farmers with rice, soybean and other crop production while reducing labor and operating costs.
It has also strengthened its agricultural support system through the timely supply of farming materials, contract farming, agricultural product purchasing, sales and market development.
This has created an increasingly integrated support structure covering the entire farming process:
Seedlings and agricultural supplies → Farm-work support → Production → Purchasing and marketing
Based on these improvements in management and agricultural business operations, Hyunsan NongHyup was released from its merger-recommendation deferral status in 2021, reinforcing its foundation as an independently managed cooperative.
Chairman Kang Seong-ho returned to lead Hyunsan NongHyup in 2023 after an eight-year absence. Since then, he has continued to emphasize field-oriented management under the principle that “the cooperative belongs to its members.”
The Nongsim Cheonsim Special Award carries particular significance because it is not simply an award based on financial size or banking performance. Rather, it recognizes how agricultural cooperatives contribute to farmers, agriculture and the sustainability of rural communities.
However, because the NACF has not publicly disclosed Hyunsan NongHyup’s individual evaluation scores or detailed selection criteria, it would be premature to attribute the award to any single project. Instead, the recognition can be viewed as reflecting the cooperative’s accumulated efforts to improve farmers’ practical benefits and revitalize the rural economy.
“This Nongsim Cheonsim Special Award is a valuable achievement made possible by the joint efforts of our members and employees,” Chairman Kang said.
“We will continue to uphold the values of Nongsim Cheonsim and devote ourselves to improving the practical benefits and welfare of our members.”
From a cooperative once concerned about the possibility of merger, to a nationally top-performing NongHyup, and now a recipient of the Nongsim Cheonsim Special Award, Hyunsan NongHyup has undergone a remarkable transformation.
Its journey demonstrates that the competitiveness of a small rural agricultural cooperative is not determined simply by its size, but by how essential and valuable it can be to the farmers it serves.