Strategic Crop Direct Payment Eligibility Hits Record High, Up 7% from Last Year

Results of This Year’s Strategic Crop Direct Payment Program Implementation Review

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on December 10 that, according to the 2025 implementation review of the Strategic Crop Direct Payment Program, the area eligible for direct payments reached 148,000 hectares, marking the highest performance since the program was introduced in 2023.

The Strategic Crop Direct Payment Program is a system that provides direct payments to farmers who cultivate strategic crops such as legumes and powdered rice in paddy fields, with the aims of ▲improving the national food self-sufficiency rate, ▲managing grain supply and demand, and ▲enhancing the utilization of paddy fields. Since the program's launch, the Ministry has continuously expanded the range of eligible crops and increased the payment rates over the past three years.

Powdered rice production complex. (File photo)

This year, in order to broaden support for farmers, the eligibility requirements for direct payments were relaxed. Among the eligible items, the Ministry completely removed land requirements for summer forage crops, including ▲existing farmland previously supported by direct payments, ▲farmland where rice was cultivated the previous year, and ▲land where forage crops were grown consecutively for three years. In addition, if natural disasters such as heavy rain are officially recognized, farmers can receive direct payments even if cultivation is not completed, as the implementation requirements were eased.

A Ministry official stated, "These improvements have significantly expanded the number of farms eligible for direct payments this year." The official added, "A total of 85,000 agricultural management entities will receive payments amounting to 226.6 billion won, which means each entity will receive direct income support of about 2.6 million won." He further noted, "In particular, the high proportion of young farmers among the recipients demonstrates the program's effectiveness in supporting young farmers."

Since many strategic crops, such as wheat and soybeans, have a high import dependency, increasing the cultivation area can help raise the national food self-sufficiency rate. Of the total area eligible for direct payments this year, 55,000 hectares were summer crops such as legumes and powdered rice. The Ministry expects that, with about 290,000 tons less rice produced for table consumption, this will also help regulate the rice supply.

The Ministry plans to allocate 226.6 billion won in strategic crop direct payments to local governments on December 11, with the aim of having local governments distribute the payments to each farm within December.

Byun Sangmoon, Director-General for Food Policy at the Ministry, stated, "The Strategic Crop Direct Payment Program is a key policy for proactive rice supply management and improving the national food self-sufficiency rate." He added, "We will continue to design the program to expand the range of eligible crops and areas, and increase payment rates, so that more farmers can participate in cultivating strategic crops, thereby ensuring a stable supply of food crops to the public and increasing farm income."

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