Jeongeup-si Expands Support for Eco-Friendly Agriculture Certification Fees

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Jae-gil] Jeongeup City, Jeonbuk Province announced on the 7th that it will improve the 2021 eco-friendly agricultural product certification cost support project by raising the support unit price and expanding the target to reduce the management cost burden of production, processing, and distribution entities of eco-friendly agriculture.

Farmers practicing eco-friendly agriculture must undergo an inspection every year by a private certification agency designated by the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, and the cost per case is about 400,000 KRW for application fees and inspection management fees.

In this regard, the city plans to increase the support unit price for the costs required for eco-friendly agriculture certification from 300,000 KRW to 350,000 KRW per case starting this year. The support targets are 173 farms (86 organic farms covering 167 hectares, 87 pesticide-free farms covering 115 hectares).

Along with this, the certification cost support target has been expanded from the existing organic and pesticide-free agricultural product certification to include ‘organic processed food and handler certification’.

Support for organic processed food and handler certification is at about 85% of the actual cost, with certification costs for organic processed foods supported at 1,000,000 KRW per case and handler certification costs at 550,000 KRW per case.

As of this month, Jeongeup has 10 organic processed food companies and 12 handler companies.

‘Organic processed food’ refers to products manufactured, processed, and distributed using raw materials of agricultural, livestock, and fishery products certified organic. Manufacturers must receive certification after undergoing an inspection every year by a private certification agency designated by the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service.

‘Handlers’ refer to entities such as school meal support centers, comprehensive rice processing plants, and agricultural product distribution companies that change packaging units or simply process and package eco-friendly agricultural product certified items. Handlers must also receive certification after undergoing an inspection every year by a private certification agency designated by the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service.

The city expects that through this support, the management costs of eco-friendly certified farms and processing and distribution companies in the Jeongeup area will decrease by about 80 million KRW annually.

Interested farmers can submit copies of related supporting documents such as ‘Eco-friendly Agricultural Product Certification,’ ‘Organic Processed Food Company Certification,’ and ‘Eco-friendly Agricultural Product Handler Certification’ along with an application form to each eup, myeon, or dong office.

A city official said, “We are making efforts to establish a stable foundation for eco-friendly agriculture and reduce management costs for farmers,” adding, “We will continue to discover more support measures to increase farm income and expand the production of high-quality eco-friendly agricultural products.”

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