'Non-Agricultural Land-Based Vertical Farms' Also Eligible for Loans and Subsidies

Enactment and Implementation of Notification on Standards for Registration of Agricultural Management Information

In the future, vertical farms based on non-agricultural land will also be able to register in the Agricultural Management Information system and receive policy support.

The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service announced that it has established the "Detailed Standards and Operational Regulations for Agricultural Management Information Registration" and will implement it starting from the 10th.

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Until now, the standards for registering agricultural management information have been operated as administrative guidelines by applying the regulations for issuing farmer identification certificates, but due to insufficient legal grounds, there have been difficulties in handling civil complaints and carrying out tasks in the field.

Accordingly, the Act on the Promotion and Support of Agricultural and Fishery Management Entities was amended to provide a legal basis for the registration standards of agricultural management information, and detailed contents and operational regulations such as registration procedures were established and announced as a public notice to be implemented.

The public notice expands the scope of farmers eligible to receive policy support such as loans and subsidies related to agricultural management and introduces several improvements to prevent registration by non-farmers.

First, until now, beekeeping in forest land could not be registered in the agricultural management information system, but by improving the registration standards for beekeeping, farmers engaged in beekeeping not only on farmland but also on forest land can now register. This was promoted as a policy task through a public proposal to the Presidential Office.

Also, in the case of vertical farms, which have been increasing recently, if installed on non-agricultural land, registration in the agricultural management information system was not possible; however, by establishing registration standards for vertical farms, farmers operating vertical farms on non-agricultural land can now receive policy support.

Lastly, to strengthen the verification of actual cultivation and independent farming by farmers registering agricultural management information who operate at their own expense and responsibility, if the area is less than 1000㎡ or there is no area standard, it has been improved to require proof that the annual sales amount of directly produced agricultural products is at least 1.2 million KRW.

Park Seong-woo, Director of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, said, "Registration of agricultural management information (agricultural management entities) is central to the establishment and execution of agricultural policies. Through the implementation of this public notice, we will improve inconveniences faced by farmers, systematize the registration process of agricultural management information, and enhance the accuracy and reliability of registration information to increase the effectiveness of agricultural policies."