Government to Pay 2.2 Trillion Won in Basic Public Interest Direct Payments to 1.13 Million Farmers... Two Weeks Earlier Than Last Year

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] The government plans to pay a total of 2.1943 trillion KRW in basic public interest direct payments to 1.13 million farmers this year.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 23rd that the 2022 basic public interest direct payments began to be disbursed from the 21st.

Now in its third year of implementation, the public interest direct payment system is a program that provides direct payments to farmers who meet certain qualifications and comply with requirements to promote the public functions of agriculture and rural areas and stabilize farmers' incomes.

The Ministry plans to pay a total of 2.1943 trillion KRW in basic public interest direct payments to 1.129 million farms and farmers (payment area of 1.058 million hectares) whose eligibility has been verified. The small-scale direct payment, paid per farm unit, targets 450,000 households with 540.5 billion KRW, and the area-based direct payment, paid per farmer (including corporations), targets 679,000 people with 1.6538 trillion KRW.

The Ministry stated, "By utilizing the integrated verification system established last year, we provided prior guidance from the application and reception stages to prevent ineligible farmland from applying, thereby preemptively preventing fraudulent claims." Furthermore, even after application and reception, they selected inspection targets by linking records of agricultural material purchases and residence information, focusing on verifying actual cultivation to ensure that direct payments are made to farmers who are genuinely farming.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs transferred the 2022 basic public interest direct payments to local governments on the 21st, two weeks earlier than last year, and each local government will sequentially disburse payments after confirming farmers' bank accounts.

Following the amendment and promulgation of the "Act on the Operation of Direct Payment System for the Promotion of Public Functions of Agriculture and Rural Areas," which removed the farmland requirement that only farmland with at least one direct payment received between 2017 and 2019 would be eligible for basic public interest direct payments, it is expected that 174,000 hectares of farmland and 562,000 farmers will newly be included as direct payment recipients.

Jeon Han-young, Director of Food Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "As the number of direct payment recipients expands next year, we will thoroughly establish and implement operational plans including strengthening education and publicity for farmers and measures to prevent fraudulent claims to ensure the basic public interest direct payment project proceeds smoothly."

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