Gangjin County Pays 4.5 Billion Won in Strategic Crop Direct Payments...Support for Farms Growing Alternative Crops in Paddy Fields

Gangjin County in Jeollanam-do has provided 4.5 billion won in strategic crop direct payments this year to farms that cultivated strategic crops in paddy fields. This policy aims to reduce rice oversupply and expand the foundation for food self-sufficiency, with more than 3,400 farms included as beneficiaries.

On December 24, Gangjin County announced that, under the strategic crop direct payment program, it had distributed a total of 4.5 billion won in direct payments to 3,405 farms in the region. The total area covered was 4,687 hectares, with 3,649 hectares for winter crops and 1,038 hectares for summer crops.

In a soybean field ready for harvest in Gangjin County, Jeollanam-do, agricultural machinery is operating. Photo by Gangjin County

The strategic crop direct payment program is a system that provides government funding to farmers who cultivate strategic crops in paddy fields, aiming to increase the utilization rate of paddy fields and improve the food self-sufficiency rate. Payments are divided between winter crops-such as oats, wheat, and barley-and summer crops-such as legumes, flour rice, and corn. The payment rate is 500,000 to 1 million won per hectare for winter crops and 1 million to 5 million won per hectare for summer crops.

In particular, farms that practiced double cropping by cultivating winter wheat or forage crops together with summer legumes or flour rice received an additional incentive of 1 million won per hectare.

Applications for winter crops were accepted from February to mid-April, and for summer crops from February to mid-July. After an implementation inspection conducted by the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, the final list of payment recipients was confirmed last month.

An official from the county stated, "We appreciate the farms that actively cooperated in cultivating alternative crops in paddy fields," and added, "Next year, the county will continue to provide support to further expand the cultivation of alternative crops such as paddy soybeans."

Meanwhile, Gangjin County is investing a total of 1.43 billion won to promote the cultivation of paddy soybeans, providing county-funded incentives of 500,000 won per hectare for double cropping and 1.5 million won per hectare for single cropping, as well as subsidizing 95% of the soybean crop insurance premiums.