Jeongeup-si Pays 5.3 Billion KRW in 'Strategic Crop Direct Payments' to 2,496 Farms

Published 19 Dec.2023 10:48(KST)

Jeongeup City in Jeonbuk will begin sequentially disbursing the 2023 Strategic Crop Direct Payments starting from the 20th.

According to the city on the 19th, the number of farmers eligible for the strategic crop direct payments is 2,496. The short-term cultivation area includes approximately 5,500 hectares of winter crops and about 1,400 hectares of summer crops. The area receiving incentives for double cropping is around 900 hectares, with a total direct payment amounting to 5.3 billion KRW.

Strategic Crop Direct Payment Poster. [Photo by Jeongeup City]

The Strategic Crop Direct Payment system, introduced for the first time this year, is designed to reduce rice cultivation areas and increase food self-sufficiency rates by providing direct payments to farmers who cultivate food and forage crops in rice paddies during winter and grow glutinous rice (floury rice), paddy beans, or summer forage crops instead of rice in summer.

Since it utilizes rice paddies, the system is similar to the past 'Rice Paddy Double Cropping Direct Payment' program, but it includes additional summer crops such as paddy beans, glutinous rice, and summer forage crops. Payments range from 500,000 to 4.8 million KRW per hectare depending on the crop.

The city conducted two rounds of compliance inspections to ensure the effective implementation of the newly introduced Strategic Crop Direct Payment system and to prevent fraudulent claims. They also performed extensive verifications and accepted appeals to finalize the list of recipients.

Additionally, to support farmers who suffered damage to summer crops due to frequent heavy rains this year, the city relaxed the cultivation compliance standards for strategic crops to enable direct payments.

Director Yoo Gi-o said, “We hope that the payment of these strategic crop direct payments will greatly contribute to stabilizing rice supply and demand as well as the management stability of farming households.”