Full Implementation of Public Interest Direct Payment Compliance Requirements Starting This Year

Reduction of Direct Payments for Violations of Compliance Requirements Such as Agricultural Waste Disposal and Completion of Education

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] The Damyang Office of the Jeonnam Branch of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service announced on the 27th that it will fully implement 17 compliance requirements for receiving the Basic Public Interest Direct Payment starting in 2022.

The Public Interest Direct Payment system is a program that provides direct payments to qualified farmers to promote the public functions of agriculture and rural areas and stabilize farmers' incomes.

Farmers must comply with legal requirements to receive the public interest direct payments.

Among the 17 compliance requirements that farmers must follow to receive the Basic Public Interest Direct Payment, 14 have been enforced since the system's first year in 2020.

However, ▲proper disposal of agricultural waste, ▲participation in village community activities, and ▲compliance with farm diary preparation will be fully enforced starting this year after a two-year guidance period considering field conditions.

◆Proper management of agricultural waste

Farmers must not abandon agricultural waste such as waste vinyl and pesticide containers on farmland or nearby areas, nor illegally burn or bury them.

Farmers must store agricultural waste at designated locations such as village communal collection points or ensure that waste disposal companies collect them on scheduled dates.

If the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (hereafter NAQS) finds abandoned agricultural waste during inspections, a 14-day compliance period will be granted once, and compliance will be rechecked afterward.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to provide farmers with all relevant information about village-specific agricultural waste storage locations or communal collection days before the start of public interest direct payment applications, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, NAQS, and local governments.

◆Participation in village community activities

Farmers must participate in community activities in the village where their registered farmland is located. This can include jointly collecting agricultural waste, village clean-up events, or activities to preserve traditional culture.

The village autonomous council (including village heads and community leaders) will establish a joint activity plan by March, notify eligible farmers via text messages or village broadcasts, and NAQS will verify participation in community activities at the village level.

◆Preparation and retention of farm diaries

Farmers must keep receipts for agricultural materials such as seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers, record pesticide and fertilizer usage in farm diaries, and retain these records for two years.

The standard farm diary form will be included in the "Essential Guide for Farmers" provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in early March, but existing formats and methods used by farmers (handwritten or online) will also be accepted.

An NAQS official stated, "We plan to actively promote the compliance requirements, which will be subject to reductions starting this year, in advance at the field level. We ask farmers applying for public interest direct payments to faithfully comply with the requirements and actively cooperate to ensure smooth compliance inspections."

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