Efforts to Maintain Rice Price at Around 200,000 Won per Sack... Agricultural Direct Payments to Expand to 5 Trillion Won by 2027

'Rice Supply Stability, Expansion Plan for Direct Payment System' Announcement
Active Promotion of Supply Stability Measures
Expansion of 'Agricultural Direct Payments' Instead of 'Forced Purchase'

The government plans to implement supply and demand stabilization measures to keep the price of one sack (80kg) of rice at around 200,000 KRW during this year's harvest season and increase the agricultural direct payment budget to over 3 trillion KRW next year. This is a response to the 'Partial Amendment to the Grain Management Act,' which mandates the compulsory purchase of surplus rice.

On the 6th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs held a meeting with the private sector, ruling party, and government officials to discuss 'rice supply and demand stabilization, expansion of direct payments, and agricultural and rural development plans,' and announced the results accordingly.

First, they will actively pursue supply and demand stabilization measures to ensure that the rice price during the 2023 harvest season reaches around 200,000 KRW per 80kg (the 2022 harvest season price was 187,268 KRW per 80kg). If a decline in rice prices is anticipated, the government plans to implement market isolation and other harvest season measures promptly.

To this end, they will reduce rice cultivation areas through the Strategic Crop Direct Payment System (16,000 hectares for paddy soybeans, rice flour, etc.), farmland bank projects, and autonomous reductions by local governments to induce appropriate production. In particular, the production of rice flour, which can be cultivated like regular rice, will be expanded from 2,000 hectares in 2023 to over 10,000 hectares in 2024 to reduce the production of cooked rice, which is at risk of overproduction.

Additionally, to expand rice consumption, the government will foster the rice processing industry by developing foods using rice flour and significantly expand the 'University Students' 1,000 KRW Breakfast' project. During this year's harvest season, the government will closely monitor rice cultivation areas and crop conditions and, if necessary, implement bold and proactive market isolation measures similar to last year.

The agricultural direct payment budget to stabilize farmers' income and management will be increased to over 3 trillion KRW next year and expanded to around 5 trillion KRW by 2027.

The public interest-type direct payment will be restructured to enhance income compensation effects mainly for small and medium-sized farms (2025?2029, Basic Plan for the Public Interest Direct Payment System), and a management stabilization program will be introduced to mitigate significant fluctuations in actual income and sales by farm and product. To this end, the government plans to evaluate the results of the current income guarantee insurance pilot project and prepare a restructuring plan by the end of the year.

Moreover, the management transfer direct payment system, which guarantees income for elderly farmers after retirement while transferring farmland to young farmers, will have a restructuring plan prepared within this year and be implemented from next year. Starting next year, a pilot project for the carbon-neutral direct payment system will also be launched to support carbon reduction in the agricultural sector.

Support for farmers' management stabilization will also be strengthened. First, to address the major issue of agricultural labor in rural areas, the supply of both domestic and foreign labor will be significantly increased.

This year, a record-high approximately 38,000 foreign workers have been allocated to the agricultural sector. The public seasonal labor system will be expanded from 5 locations last year to 19 this year. The Rural Labor Brokerage Centers will increase to 170 locations this year, and through collaborative projects with the Ministry of Employment and Labor, more than 50,000 urban workers will be brought into rural fields.

The digitalization of agricultural product distribution will also be actively promoted. An online wholesale market for agricultural products will be established by November this year, and 100 Smart Agricultural Product Distribution Centers (APCs) will be built by 2027 to facilitate smooth distribution in production areas, aiming to reduce distribution costs by 6% (2.6 trillion KRW).

Mid- to long-term measures for the future industrialization of agriculture and rural development will also be pursued. The goal is to nurture 30,000 young farmers, expanding the farming settlement support project, which provides up to 1.1 million KRW per month for three years, to 6,000 people by 2027. Additionally, smart agriculture will be expanded to cover 30% of agricultural and livestock production, and automation and mechanization rates will be increased for open-field crops to reduce labor and other management costs. K-Food+ exports will be significantly expanded through export logistics efficiency and new market development leveraging the Korean Wave. The green bioindustry will be expanded to a scale of 10 trillion KRW by 2027, and 30 food tech unicorn companies will be nurtured, actively fostering new industries that combine advanced technologies to broaden the scope of agriculture.

Alongside this, based on the Rural Spatial Planning Act promulgated this year, a rural specialized district system will be introduced next year to transform rural areas, where indiscriminate development is intensifying, into pleasant spaces. To enable rural residents to enjoy various services such as welfare and culture, 900 living SOC complex facilities will be supported by the end of this year, and a model to strengthen the lacking medical and welfare services in rural areas will be prepared by the end of this year.

(Photo) [Image source=Yonhap News]

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