Gyeongnam Province Secures 106.4 Billion KRW in National Funds to Overcome Drought

Agricultural Production Infrastructure Maintenance Project Expenses Increased by 4.3 Billion KRW Compared to the Previous Year

Gyeongsangnam-do secured 106.4 billion KRW in agricultural production infrastructure maintenance project funds from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs this year.

According to Gyeongsangnam-do, the budget is allocated for rural water development and repair and maintenance of irrigation facilities, with an increase of 4.3 billion KRW compared to 102.1 billion KRW in 2022.

The rural water development project includes a multipurpose rural water development project that installs new reservoirs and pumping stations, a rural water utilization system reorganization project that integrates and upgrades aging irrigation facilities scattered across farmland, and an agricultural water management automation project that remotely controls reservoirs and pumping/drainage stations.

The irrigation facility repair and maintenance project involves repairing and maintaining existing aging pumping/drainage stations, reservoirs, and irrigation/drainage channels to directly facilitate farming convenience for farmers, and it is fully funded by the national government.

Agricultural production facility infrastructure maintenance work is underway at Banggok-ri Reservoir in Geumseo-myeon, Sancheong-gun, Gyeongnam Province.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

The province stated that while 4 billion KRW was allocated annually to five cities and counties for the repair and maintenance of aging irrigation/drainage channels, this year the number of cities and counties increased by two, securing an additional 8 billion KRW.

For the new pumping station facility improvement project, 21 locations were selected with a budget of 88 billion KRW, and for the 2023 irrigation facility repair and maintenance project, 25 locations were selected with 62.6 billion KRW, of which 21 billion KRW will be executed this year.

The multipurpose rural water development project in the Sancheong-gun Teukrijigu area and the rural water utilization system reorganization project in the Changwon-si Junam area are new projects proposed to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to secure permanent agricultural water supply.

An official from the province said, “This national funding was achieved through the active efforts of related officials who visited the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs several times to explain the necessity of the projects. We will continue to do our best to secure national funding projects, improve the province’s financial conditions, establish a stable farming infrastructure, and contribute to increasing farmers’ income.”