Rice Blast Disease in Haenam Recognized as Agricultural Disaster... Relief for Affected Farms

Faster Support Than Other Local Governments Signals Green Light

Damage from rice blast disease, which has been spreading mainly in the Haenam region of South Jeolla Province, has been officially recognized as an agricultural disaster by the government, and full-scale support for the affected farms will now be provided.

On October 14, Haenam County announced, "The Committee for Countermeasures against Agricultural and Fishery Disasters has officially designated rice blast disease as an agricultural disaster." This decision is the result of ongoing petitions to the South Jeolla Provincial Government and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs by County Governor Myung Hyun-kwan and Assemblyman Park Ji-won.

Damage caused by rice blast disease has been officially recognized as an agricultural disaster by the government, and support will be provided to the affected farms. Provided by Haenam County

The committee, together with the Rural Development Administration, comprehensively reviewed the causal relationship between weather conditions and the outbreak of the disease, as well as the scale of the damage, before determining whether it constituted a disaster. The county began a preemptive and detailed damage survey starting on October 7, ahead of the rice harvest season, and is expected to be able to provide support more quickly than other local governments.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will also conduct damage assessments for farms that have already completed their harvests, based on records from Rice Processing Complexes (RPCs), to ensure that no affected farms are excluded from receiving support.

The support items include: ▲ 810,000 won per hectare for pesticide costs ▲ 3,720,000 won per hectare for replanting costs ▲ living support funds (1,205,000 won for a two-person household, 1,872,700 won for a four-person household), and disaster relief funds will be promptly distributed to the affected farms. In addition, repayment of agricultural policy loans will be deferred, interest will be reduced, and disaster management loans with an interest rate of 1.8% will be provided to help stabilize farm management.

County Governor Myung Hyun-kwan commented, "Following the abnormal heat in July and August this year, frequent rainfall in September has led to outbreaks of rice blast disease and other crop diseases. I hope that this official recognition of the disaster will help stabilize the management of the affected farms."

Rice blast disease causes dark brown lesions resembling sesame seeds to appear on the leaves. In severe cases, spots can also form on the grains, resulting in a decline in rice quality and marketability.