929 Billion Won in Crop Flood Damage from Heavy Rain... Support Also for Agricultural Machinery and Greenhouses

Price Increase of 23% for 123 Major Items

The government has decided to provide 92.9 billion KRW in support for crops and other agricultural products damaged by the heavy rains that occurred last month. Damage to agricultural machinery and facility greenhouses will also be supported.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that following the final review and approval of the heavy rain damage recovery plan by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters from July 8 to 19 on the 23rd, disaster relief funds and financial support will be provided to ensure rapid recovery in the agricultural sector.

Due to the heavy rains in July, the agricultural sector nationwide suffered damage including 9,450 hectares of crop flooding, 891 hectares of farmland loss and burial, 1.02 million livestock deaths, 63.2 hectares of agricultural facility damage, 4,800 cases of damage to agricultural machinery and facility equipment, and damage to 97 repair facilities such as reservoirs, drainage stations, and drainage channels.

An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs explained, "Although the area affected by heavy rain damage this year was not larger than last summer or the average year, starting from this damage, we have raised the recovery unit costs in consultation with related ministries and newly included damage to agricultural machinery, facility greenhouses, and livestock housing equipment as eligible for recovery cost support."

Of the 92.9 billion KRW in agricultural recovery funds reviewed and approved on this day, 58.5 billion KRW is allocated for private facility support for affected farms, and 34.4 billion KRW for public facility (repair facility) restoration. Disaster relief funds for restoring private facilities such as crops and livestock include 12 billion KRW for green onion compensation, 13.1 billion KRW for pesticides, 1.7 billion KRW for livestock stocking costs, 21.4 billion KRW for farmland restoration, 2.6 billion KRW for agricultural facility restoration, and 1.2 billion KRW for living expenses.

In particular, since last year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has continuously consulted with related ministries to expand recovery support in the agricultural sector. Starting from this damage, support unit costs for 123 major items have been increased by an average of 23%, and 80 major agricultural machinery and facility equipment items have been newly added for support. In addition to disaster relief funds, affected farms will receive support for deferring repayment and interest reduction on agricultural policy funds, and if additional funds are needed for farm management, disaster management operating funds will be provided as loans at an interest rate of 1.8%.

For crop disaster insurance, about 1,800 damage assessment personnel have been deployed to the heavy rain damage areas to promptly conduct damage assessments within three days of damage reports. Insurance payments have been made since the 18th of last month, and as of the 21st, a total of 17.7 billion KRW in insurance claims have been paid.

Song Mi-ryeong, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated, "To ensure the swift recovery of farms affected by the heavy rains, we will actively cooperate with related ministries and local governments so that disaster relief funds can be provided before Chuseok, and we will do our best to complete recovery projects as early as possible."