Application Period for Winter Strategic Crop Direct Payment, Including Wheat and Forage Crops, Extended Until April 24

Application Period Extended from April 3 to April 24
Wheat: 1 Million Won and Forage Crops: 500,000 Won Per Hectare

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on April 1 that it will accept additional applications for winter strategic crop direct payment subsidies until April 24. The strategic crop direct payment program provides subsidies to farmers who cultivate and manage designated strategic crops on paddy fields with the aim of improving food self-sufficiency, stabilizing rice supply and demand, and promoting the effective use of rice paddies.

This year, the designated winter strategic crops include barley, rye, oats, and forage crops. For the summer season, the designated crops are legumes, powdered rice, forage crops, corn, sesame, rice for supply adjustment, alfalfa, sorghum, and Job's tears.

Initially, the Ministry planned to accept winter direct payment applications from February 23 to April 3. However, considering that the application start date was later than the previous year due to the Lunar New Year holidays, and that local government officials faced increased workloads due to wildfire prevention and quarantine work, the application deadline was extended to April 24.

Accordingly, farmers wishing to apply for the winter strategic crop direct payment have until April 24, and for the summer program, until May 29. In particular, farmers who cultivate wheat and forage crops in winter and double-crop powdered rice, legumes, or forage crops in summer must apply for both winter and summer crops to receive the double-cropping incentive (1 million won per hectare). Therefore, farms that grew wheat or forage crops in winter must also apply for the winter crop direct payment to be eligible for the incentive.

Recipients of the strategic crop direct payment will be finalized after an implementation inspection by the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service based on the submitted application information (winter: April to June; summer: July to October), and payments will be made at the end of the year.

Byun Sang-moon, Director General for Food Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "The strategic crop direct payment program plays a significant role in stabilizing rice supply and demand and ensuring food security," and added, "With the application period for winter crops extended, I urge local governments to actively promote the program and encourage more farmers to apply within the deadline."

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