The Largest Scale Since the Start of the 2018 Agricultural Settlement Support Project
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 2nd that it has selected 4,000 young farmers as beneficiaries of the Farming Settlement Support Project.
The selected young farmers will receive a monthly support payment of up to 1.1 million KRW for a maximum of three years, starting as early as this month.
The Farming Settlement Support Project provides monthly settlement support funds to help young people newly entering rural farming reduce difficulties such as income instability during their initial settlement period. It targets individuals under the age of 40 who have no farming experience or less than three years of farming experience.
In addition to the monthly support payments, those selected for the Farming Settlement Support Project can receive assistance with loans, farmland leasing, and farming technology education if they wish. They can receive start-up funds up to 500 million KRW (1.5% interest rate, 5-year grace period, 20-year repayment period) and have priority access to reserve farmland through the Farmland Bank. Support is also provided for farming technology education and farming management and investment consulting.
There are obligations that selected individuals must fulfill. To receive the settlement support funds, applicants must first establish a farming base such as farmland or facilities under their own name and register as an agricultural management entity (manager). This measure is to prevent cases where funds are received without engaging in farming. Among the selected candidates, those planning to farm must complete registration as an agricultural management entity by the end of this year. Additionally, selected individuals are required to engage in farming for up to six years, complete mandatory education, and submit agricultural management performance reports.
The Farming Settlement Support Project has been implemented since 2018, with a total of 8,600 people selected and supported by 2022. This year, following the establishment of the 1st Basic Plan for Successor and Young Farmer Development (2023?2027) in October last year to actively foster young farmers, the number of selected beneficiaries has doubled compared to the previous year to 4,000.
Park Su-jin, Director of Agricultural Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "We will strengthen the Farming Settlement Support Project along with farmland, loan, and technical education support so that young people interested in agriculture and rural areas can settle without difficulties. We also plan to actively improve living conditions so that young people can live comfortably in rural areas."
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