Jeonnam Province to Provide Nation's First 'Farmer and Fisherman Public Interest Allowance'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province (Governor Kim Young-rok) will be the first in the nation to provide public interest allowances to farmers and fishermen.

According to Jeonnam Province on the 1st, among the 22 cities and counties in the province, Jangheung County, which has completed administrative procedures such as selecting recipients, plans to start payments from the 2nd, and Yeosu City will begin payments from the 6th.

The province changed its original plan of paying 300,000 won each in the first and second halves of the year to a one-time payment of 600,000 won this month to help farmers and fishermen struggling due to COVID-19. Administrative procedures such as verifying recipients and operating objection procedures are currently underway.

For the 195,904 applicants who applied from January 1st to the 6th of last month, local currency worth approximately 117.5 billion won will be distributed as soon as the recipient selection by city and county is completed.

Farmers and fishermen eligible for the allowance are those who have been continuously residing in Jeonnam Province and engaged in farming or fishing as the head of a farming or fishing household registered before December 31, 2018.

Jeonnam Province expects that the early payment of the public interest allowance for farmers and fishermen will play a role in compensating the income of those facing difficulties in selling agricultural and marine products.

Additionally, since the local currency can only be used in neighborhood commercial districts and traditional markets within the cities and counties, it is expected to act as a catalyst to revitalize the depressed local economy.

Kim Kyung-ho, Director of the Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Bureau of Jeonnam Province, said, “As the Jeonnam-type public interest allowance for farmers and fishermen will be paid from this month, the payment dates and distribution financial institutions differ by city and county, so we will provide prior notice to residents by region. We hope that this early execution of the public interest allowance will breathe new life into agriculture, fisheries, and the local economy, which have been weakened by COVID-19.”

Meanwhile, the public interest allowance for farmers and fishermen is a system first implemented nationwide by Jeollanam-do and its cities and counties to recognize the multifunctional roles and public values of agriculture, fisheries, and rural areas, aiming to solve rural issues such as population decline and aging and to promote sustainable rural development.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.