Gyeonggi Province will accept project applications for the ‘Basic Public Interest Direct Payment’ through two methods: non-face-to-face submission and in-person visits until April 30.
The Public Interest Direct Payment System is designed to induce the creation of public benefits for people and the environment through agricultural activities such as food safety, environmental conservation, and rural maintenance. It is divided into the ‘Basic Direct Payment System’ and the ‘Optional Direct Payment System,’ providing subsidies to farmers and agricultural corporations who have registered their agricultural management information.
The Basic Direct Payment System provides small-scale farms with farmland areas of 0.5ha or less that meet certain conditions with an annual small farmer direct payment of 1.3 million KRW regardless of area. For other farmers, an area-based direct payment is provided with a differential unit price that decreases as the standard area increases. The unit price for area-based direct payments has been raised from 1 million to 2.05 million KRW per hectare last year to 1.36 million to 2.01 million KRW per hectare.
Non-face-to-face applications will be accepted until the 28th of this month. Application guidance messages have been sent to farmers who received the basic direct payment last year and whose registration information has not changed. Applicants can easily apply through the link in the message, and if applying via message is difficult, they can apply through the automated response system.
In-person applications must be submitted by visiting the administrative welfare center in the location of the farmland from March 4 to April 30. This applies to those who did not apply non-face-to-face, new applicants, and those who have been rated for long-term care as farmers with disabilities.
After the project application, verification will be conducted by the relevant city/county and the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service from May to October, and the public interest direct payment will be made in December.
Jung In-woong, head of the Eco-friendly Agriculture Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "We will do our best during the project application and document inspection process to ensure that no eligible recipients are omitted and that there is no fraudulent receipt of payments."
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