Sejong-si to Distribute Total of 9.9 Billion KRW in 'Basic Public Interest Direct Payments'... 4.6 Billion KRW Increase from Previous Year

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Sejong City announced on the 13th that it will pay a total of 9.9 billion KRW this year as the Basic Public Interest Direct Payment to 7,200 local farms (4,674 hectares).

The Basic Public Interest Direct Payment is a system established to support income stability for farmers who enhance public functions such as environmental conservation, maintenance of rural communities, and food safety through agricultural activities. Until last year, direct payments were provided separately for rice, field crops, and disadvantaged conditions.

However, starting this year, it has been completely reorganized and integrated into the Basic Public Interest Direct Payment, which is divided only into small-scale farm direct payments and area-based direct payments.

First, the small-scale farm direct payment provides 1.2 million KRW annually to farms that meet certain eligibility criteria, such as a cultivation area of 0.1 to 0.5 hectares or less and a rural residence period of 3 years.

In addition, farmers receive area-based direct payments applying a payment rate ranging from 1 million KRW to 2.05 million KRW per hectare, depending on the application area segment.

To receive the public interest direct payment, farmers must comply with 17 mandatory activities across five areas: environmental protection, ecological conservation, community revitalization, food safety, and institutional foundation.

If a farmer fails to comply with requirements such as maintaining farmland shape or appropriate use of chemical fertilizers, the payment amount will be reduced accordingly for each non-compliance item.

The city plans to pay the direct payments in mid-month after collecting opinions from some farms classified as subject to reduction due to violations of the public interest direct payment compliance requirements and undergoing verification procedures by the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service.

Lee Gwang-tae, head of the Agriculture and Livestock Division of the city, said, “We hope that the Basic Public Interest Direct Payment, which is being paid for the first time this year, will be a timely help to farms that have had an especially difficult time due to COVID-19 and various natural disasters.”

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