Jeonnam Province "Please Follow the Compliance Requirements for Public Interest Direct Payment Farmers"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Jeonnam Province urged on the 1st that agricultural workers eligible for the Basic Public Interest Direct Payment System strictly comply with the 17 compliance requirements, which have been fully implemented this year, to avoid disadvantages such as payment reductions.

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 the legal requirements to receive the public interest direct payments.

Among the 17 compliance requirements that farmers must follow, 13 have been in effect since the system's introduction in 2020. Due to reasons such as COVID-19, the implementation of four compliance requirements, including education to promote the public functions of agriculture and rural areas, was deferred.

Starting this year, with the full implementation of the four compliance requirements, education to promote the public functions of agriculture and rural areas must be completed either through in-person or online courses. Considering the rural reality with many elderly farmers, automatic telephone education (ACS) will be provided to farmers aged 80 and above. New applicants, out-of-area cultivators, and those who violated compliance requirements last year will receive in-person or online education, while existing farmers will receive simplified mobile education.

Farmers applying for direct payments must store agricultural waste at designated locations such as village communal collection points. Burning or burying farmland waste is prohibited. Agricultural waste plastic and empty pesticide containers must not be left around farmland.

Villages where farmland registered for direct payments is located must participate in community activities such as cleaning and decorating the village landscape.

Receipts for agricultural materials such as seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers must be kept, and usage records must be written in farming diaries and retained for two years.

Jeong Won-jin, Director of the Food and Horticulture Division of Jeonnam Province, said, “The Public Interest Direct Payment System aims not only to promote the public functions of agriculture and rural areas, such as stable food supply and conservation of natural ecosystems, but also to stabilize farmers' incomes. We ask farmers to strictly comply with the requirements to avoid disadvantages such as payment reductions.”

As of the end of April, 133,000 applicants, accounting for 70% of the 193,000 eligible recipients in Jeonnam, have completed their applications.

Jeonnam Province plans to continue promoting the application process to ensure that all eligible farmers apply by the deadline at the end of May.

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