Hwasun-gun Provides Support Funds for 5 Projects to Eco-Friendly Certified Farms

Published 27 Dec.2021 11:34(KST)

[Hwasun=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Ji-woon] Hwasun-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Gu Chung-gon) announced on the 27th that it will provide a total of 2.65 billion KRW in support funds for five projects to eco-friendly certified farms this year to stabilize the income of eco-friendly farms by the end of this month.

Before disbursing the support funds, the county has been verifying the eligibility of applicant farms by checking agricultural management entity registration, management entity plot registration, eco-friendly certification period, and compliance with requirements.

The eco-friendly agricultural direct payment will be supported up to 3 times for pesticide-free and 5 times for organic farming, with 492 million KRW paid to 1,178 farms.

The support unit price for organic farming is 1.4 million KRW per hectare for fruit trees, 1.3 million KRW for vegetables and other crops, and 700,000 KRW for rice.

For pesticide-free farming, the support is 1.2 million KRW for fruit trees, 1.1 million KRW for vegetables and other items, and 500,000 KRW for paddy (rice).

The continuous direct payment for organic and pesticide-free farming will be provided to 289 farms with 91 million KRW.

Pesticide-free farming is supported for plots in their 4th year or more (rice only supported once in the 4th year), and organic farming for plots in their 6th year or more, at 50% of the eco-friendly agricultural direct payment unit price.

The eco-friendly agricultural product production incentive will be paid to 1,321 farms totaling 340 million KRW.

The production incentive is a project that compensates for the difference between agricultural income loss and production costs, and is supported differentially by certification stage only for rice, vegetables, fruit trees, and food crop items.

To diversify eco-friendly items, organic fruit trees and vegetables are supported up to 1 million KRW per hectare, with the minimum unit price being 200,000 KRW for pesticide-free rice.

A total of 1.137 billion KRW is provided for the eco-friendly agricultural complex creation project, including joint pest control costs and agricultural material expenses.

Priority support is given to eco-friendly complexes rather than individual farms. For fruit tree items, individual farms are supported up to 1.6 million KRW per hectare.

The eco-friendly farm certification fee amounts to 590 million KRW, providing a fixed amount of 100% of the calculated cost for four items?application fee, travel expenses, inspection fee, and residual pesticide test fee?up to two cases per farm (one organic, one pesticide-free).

As of the end of last month, 50 cases covering 54 hectares in eco-friendly complexes had their certification canceled or voluntarily given up due to detection of residual pesticides.

Three complexes of feed corn covering 6.2 hectares, and 81 farms covering 61.6 hectares that voluntarily gave up certified product production due to full-time farming or business closure, resulted in a decrease of 235 hectares compared to the previous year. Cases of poor post-management such as use of herbicides and chemical fertilizers during the winter season have also continued.

Accordingly, the county plans to strengthen safety management through education and meetings with complex representatives and agricultural material and pest control companies in each town and township to minimize certification cancellation cases.

A county official said, “We hope that the support for direct payments and production incentives will help resolve income disparities caused by production differences and assist farms,” adding, “We will discover and promote various policies to increase eco-friendly farm income, produce safe eco-friendly agricultural products, and preserve the agricultural environment.”