From This Year, Rice for Supply-Demand Control Also Eligible for Strategic Crop Direct Payments...5 Million Won per Hectare

Applications Open for 2026 Strategic Crop Direct Payments
Rice for Supply-Demand Control, Alfalfa, Adlay, and Sorghum Added to Eligible Strategic Crops

Starting this year, rice cultivated for supply-demand control purposes will also be eligible for strategic crop direct payments. This change follows the addition of new eligible items in order to expand farmers' options.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on February 25 that it began accepting applications for the 2026 strategic crop direct payment on February 23. The strategic crop direct payment is a subsidy paid to farmers who cultivate and manage strategic crops in paddy fields, with the aim of improving the food self-sufficiency rate, stabilizing rice supply and demand, and increasing the utilization rate of paddy fields.

The Asia Business Daily database

Since 2023, the ministry has been providing direct payments for winter crops (wheat, food crops, and forage crops) and summer crops (soybeans, rice for milling, and forage crops) cultivated in paddy fields. To expand farmers' choices, it has been adding new eligible items every year.

In 2026, rice for supply-demand control, alfalfa, adlay, and sorghum were added as eligible items for strategic crop direct payment support. The ministry expects that rice for supply-demand control, which is being implemented for the first time this year, will help reduce additional oversupply concerns for other crops such as soybeans and rice for milling, while also reducing the area cultivated for table rice. The payment per hectare is 5 million won for rice for supply-demand control, 2.5 million won for alfalfa and adlay, and 2.4 million won for sorghum.

The ministry has increased the payment unit price for some items and has also expanded the items eligible for double-cropping incentives. For summer forage crops, the payment unit price has been raised from 5 million won per hectare to 5.5 million won, and for corn and sesame, from 1 million won to 1.5 million won. Summer forage crops have been added to the list of items eligible for the double-cropping incentive, under which an additional 1 million won per hectare is paid.

The application period differs for winter and summer items. For winter crops (wheat, food crops, and forage crops), the period runs from February 23 to April 3. For summer crops (soybeans, rice for milling, forage crops, corn, sesame, rice for supply-demand control, sorghum, adlay, and alfalfa), applications can be submitted until May 29. Farmers and others wishing to participate can apply by visiting the Eup/Myeon/Dong Community Service Center with jurisdiction over the location of their farmland. Online applications are also possible through the Nong-up e-ji (Agricultural e-Land) system.

For Baektae soybeans (including soybeans for bean sprouts), where there are concerns about overproduction, the right to apply for this year's direct payment will be granted only to farmers or agricultural corporations that implemented Baektae or bean sprout soybean direct payments in the previous year, and payments will be made only within the area for which implementation performance was recorded in the previous year. Final payment will be determined after implementation inspections by the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, and direct payments are scheduled to be made to eligible farms at the end of this year.

Byun Sangmun, Director General for Food Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "The strategic crop direct payment program plays a major role in stabilizing rice supply and demand and ensuring food security," adding, "With more items covered and higher payment unit prices this year, we strongly encourage farmers to actively participate."