Chungnam Provides '1 Million KRW per 1ha' Support to Double-Cropping Farms

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province will provide 1 million KRW per 1 hectare to farmers practicing double cropping this year.

On the 18th, the province announced that it has allocated 5 billion KRW (1.5 billion KRW from the provincial budget and 3.5 billion KRW from city and county budgets) in the second supplementary budget to support double cropping farmers.

The support aims to enhance food security amid soaring international grain prices, improve the stagnant domestic food self-sufficiency rate over recent years, and increase farm household income.

Recently, international grain prices have surged due to COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war.

For example, this year’s wheat prices rose by 107.4% compared to 2020 and 71% compared to 2021, while corn and soybeans increased by 117.5% and 76% compared to 2020, and 17.3% and 14.7% compared to 2021, respectively.

Considering that food weaponization is still ongoing, the province predicts that international grain prices will continue to rise steadily, emphasizing the importance of improving domestic food self-sufficiency.

For instance, the domestic food self-sufficiency rate increased by only 0.5 percentage points over nine years, from 45.3% in 2011 to 45.8% in 2020. Excluding rice (92.8%), the self-sufficiency rates for crops such as barley (38.2%), soybeans (30.4%), corn (3.6%), and wheat (0.8%) average only 10.2%.

Accordingly, the province has set “expanding farmland use efficiency to increase farm income and food crop self-sufficiency” as a key task in the agricultural, forestry, and livestock sector for the 8th local government term and plans to invest 102.9 billion KRW (including national funds) over four years to support double cropping farmers.

Ultimately, through this support, the province aims to raise the proportion of double cropping farmers from the current 2.6% to 15% by 2026, cultivating crops other than rice in paddy fields to increase self-sufficiency rates for wheat, barley, forage crops, and stabilize rice supply and demand.

Representative summer double cropping crops include soybeans, corn, potatoes, mung beans, sorghum, and oats, while winter crops include barley, wheat, rye, and forage crops. Rice was excluded from this year’s summer crops due to a 28% drop in rice prices over the past year caused by overproduction.

The province plans to conduct the project from October this year to June next year, targeting paddy fields used for dry-field farming, supporting cases where harvest is possible before the end of June and double cropping can be practiced.

The application period is from February to March next year, and applications can be submitted at the local community service centers of the applicant’s residence. If applicants simultaneously apply for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ “Paddy Field Utilization Direct Payment Project,” they can receive an additional 500,000 KRW per 1 hectare.

A provincial official said, “To participate in the project, farmers need to sow winter crops in the second half of this year, so they should purchase seeds and carry out sowing work within this month. Crops such as wheat, buckwheat, and potatoes that can be sown in February can also be sown in early spring.”

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