Response to 50% Cut in Provincial Support
Total Support of 7.7 Billion KRW Planned for Next Year
Gangjin County in South Jeolla Province will allocate an additional 1 billion KRW from its own budget to counter the reduction in rice farming management stabilization funds by the provincial government. This measure aims to compensate for income losses among rice farming households for the 2025 harvest.
On December 18, Gangjin County announced that, following South Jeolla Province's decision to cut the 2025 rice farming management stabilization fund budget to 50% of the previous year, the county has increased its own rice farming management stabilization fund budget by 1 billion KRW, bringing the total to 6.05 billion KRW in next year’s main budget.
As a result, the total project budget for Gangjin County's rice farming management stabilization fund for next year, including 1.67 billion KRW from the provincial government, will amount to 7.7 billion KRW. The provincial stabilization fund will provide 29.5 KRW per square meter, up to a maximum of 600,000 KRW per household, while the county stabilization fund will provide 91.5 KRW per square meter, up to a maximum of 2.75 million KRW per household. The maximum support from the county fund has increased by more than 400,000 KRW from last year's cap of 2.26 million KRW.
The recipients are farmers who reside in Gangjin County and directly cultivate rice in nearby farmland to produce rice. The program also includes reclaimed land excluded from the basic public direct payment scheme, as well as farmland where crops other than rice are grown in paddy fields.
Gangjin County accepted applications from October through mid-December and plans to complete verification of recipients and farmland by January next year, with the goal of distributing the stabilization funds before the Lunar New Year holiday.
A Gangjin County official stated, "We have implemented county-level measures to minimize potential losses for farming households resulting from the provincial budget adjustment," adding, "We will continue to provide support to ensure that farmers are not left behind, reflecting feedback from the field."
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