Jeonbuk Province Expands Summer Forage Cultivation in Rice Fields... Reduces Feed Costs for Livestock Farmers

5 Million KRW Per Hectare in Strategic Crop Direct Payments
Expanded support for summer forage crop cultivation in paddy fields to stabilize rice production and reduce livestock feed costs

Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province announced on the 27th that it will expand the cultivation of summer forage crops in paddy fields to simultaneously promote appropriate rice production and reduce feed costs for livestock farmers.

To this end, the province will expand support for direct payments and incentives in connection with the Strategic Crop Direct Payment Program and plans to encourage active participation from farmers.

The strategic crop direct payment system will be significantly expanded in 2025. Provided by Jeonbuk Province

The Strategic Crop Direct Payment Program is a system that provides direct payments to farmers and agricultural corporations that cultivate strategic crops with high import dependence, such as wheat, soybeans, and flour rice, or summer forage crops in paddy fields instead of rice for table consumption.

Starting this year, the province will provide a Strategic Crop Direct Payment of 5 million KRW/ha, which is an increase of 700,000 KRW from the previous 4.3 million KRW, to farmers cultivating summer forage crops in paddy fields. In addition, the province will provide an extra incentive of 1 million KRW/ha for paddy field alternative crop production and 4,000 KRW/ton for forage crop production through its own programs.

The expansion of forage crop cultivation is part of one of the 16 core tasks of the plan to foster Jeonbuk as the capital of the agricultural bioindustry. Its aim is to reduce production costs for livestock farmers, promote management stability, and activate cyclical agriculture-livestock systems to create an environment where the livestock industry can coexist with the local community.

Through this support policy, the province will pursue a strategy to achieve both appropriate rice production and improved self-sufficiency in forage crops, and plans to maximize the synergy effect of expanding forage crop cultivation by cooperating with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Nonghyup Economic Holdings, cities and counties, and local livestock cooperatives.

Applications and further details can be checked at the town, township, or neighborhood offices where the farmland is located. The application period is until the 31st of next month for winter crops and until May 31st for summer crops.

Choi Jaeyong, Director of the Agricultural Life and Livestock Industry Bureau of the province, said, "The expansion of forage crop cultivation is expected to contribute to management stability for livestock farmers by reducing feed costs, while also stabilizing rice prices by decreasing rice production. We hope that farmers will actively participate to achieve both management stability and rice market stability."

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