Enhancing the Public Functions of Agriculture and Rural Areas
and Promoting Income Stability for Farmers
Jinju City, Gyeongnam Province, announced on the 11th that it has paid 18.5 billion KRW in the ‘2024 Basic Public Interest Direct Payment’ to 15,206 farms covering 8,367 hectares.
Now in its fifth year of implementation, the ‘Basic Public Interest Direct Payment’ is a system that provides subsidies to farmers to promote public interests such as environmental conservation, maintenance of rural communities, and food security through agricultural activities, while also aiming to stabilize farmers' incomes.
The Basic Public Interest Direct Payment is divided into small-scale direct payments and area-based direct payments. Small-scale direct payments are given to farms that meet certain criteria, such as cultivating between 1,000㎡ and 5,000㎡ and residing in rural areas for more than three years. This year, the payment was increased by 100,000 KRW from last year’s 1.2 million KRW to 1.3 million KRW annually. For other farmers, area-based direct payments are provided at an average of 1.97 million KRW per hectare, based on the application area.
To receive the Basic Public Interest Direct Payment, farmers must faithfully comply with 17 requirements, including mandatory agricultural education, maintaining the shape and function of farmland, adhering to fertilizer usage standards, and participating in village community activities. Failure to comply will result in a reduction of the payment amount according to each requirement.
A Jinju City official stated, “We hope that the public interest direct payments will be a great support to farms that have had an especially difficult year due to various natural disasters and rising farm management costs.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
