Gangjin-gun to Distribute 20.7 Billion KRW in '2021 Basic Public Interest Direct Payments'

Payment of Direct Payments for Small Farmers and Area-Based Direct Payments to 7,808 Farms

Exterior view of Gangjin-gun Office ? Asia Economy

[Gangjin＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-su] Gangjin-gun, Jeollanam-do, began distributing the '2021 Basic Public Interest Direct Payment' worth 20.77 billion KRW to 7,808 farms starting from the 26th.

According to the county, the Basic Public Interest Direct Payment, restructured and implemented last year, integrates six existing direct payment programs including rice direct payments, field crop direct payments, and conditionally disadvantaged direct payments. It aims to promote public contributions such as rural maintenance, food safety, and environmental conservation, as well as stabilize farmers' income. The program consists of small-scale direct payments and area-based direct payments.

The small-scale direct payment provides 1.2 million KRW per farm to small-scale farms that meet criteria such as cultivating less than 5,000㎡, owning farmland of 15,500㎡ or less, engaging in farming for more than three years, residing continuously in rural areas for over three years, and having non-farming income below 45 million KRW.

The area-based direct payment divides eligible farmland into three regions: promotion area paddy and fields, non-promotion area paddy, and non-promotion area fields. It applies a regressive unit price ranging from a minimum of 1 million KRW to a maximum of 2.05 million KRW per hectare across three size brackets (under 2 hectares, 2 to 6 hectares, and 6 to 30 hectares).

The county accepted direct payment applications from registered agricultural management entities and plots from April to May, and finalized the selection of recipients through verification of farm qualifications, actual cultivation, and plot inspections from June to October.

County Governor Lee Seung-ok said, "We hope this direct payment will help farms that have faced difficulties due to labor shortages caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and heavy rains."

Meanwhile, Gangjin-gun started accepting applications for the 2021 rice management stabilization support project from the 15th. To assist farms struggling with agricultural market liberalization and rising agricultural material prices, the county plans to provide 4.65 billion KRW in rice management stabilization funds in January next year and distribute coupons for purchasing seedling soil for rice nursery in March.

Gangjin＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-su kys86120@asiae.co.kr

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