Home > Assistance for Farming > Public Benefit > Direct Payment for Public Benefit

Direct Payment for Public Benifit

• The system intends to provide subsidy to farmers to serve public purposes such as food safety and the conservation of environment and rural communities

Objective

• To shift the paradigm of farming from rice to other crops and close the gap between them
• To develop agriculture for the public by strengthening its obligations related to ecology and environment
• To address gap among farmers by stabilizing income of small and medium sized farms

Main content

• Out of 9 existing direct payment programs, 6 direct payments for rice paddy utilization, field agriculture, conditionally disadvantaged region, eco-friendliness, and landscape preservation were integrated into Basic Direct Payment for Public Benefit (Direct Payment System)
• Direct payments for rice, fixed field agriculture and conditionally disadvantage region, which cannot be paid in duplication and are paid by the area of farmland, were integrated into Basic Direct Payment for Public Benefit (Basic Direct Payment)
• Direct payments for eco-friendliness and land preservation are maintained as Optional Direct Payment for Public Benefit (Optional Direct Payment) and can be paid in duplication with Basic Direct Payment

Before and after amendment

Persons and farmland subject to Basic Direct Payment for Public Benefit

• (Subject Farmland) Farmland subject to previous direct payment system for rice, dry fields and disadvantaged region *Farmland which received direct payment more than once in three years from 2017 to 2019 are stipulated in Act
  • * (Direct payment for rice) farmland used as paddy fields from 1998 to 2000, (Direct payment for dry fields) farmland used as dry fields from 2012 to 2014, (Direct payment for disadvantaged region) farmland in a disadvantaged region from 2003 to 2005
  • → Discarded or modified farmland, illegal field, illegally owned farmland, farmland with terminated least contract, farmland owned by a person not eligible for registration are excluded
• (Subject person) Person subject to previous direct payment system for rice, dry fields and disadvantaged region
  • → Farmer (corporation) with less than 37 million won of non-farm income that meet certain requirements
  • * ① successor·full-time farmer, subject of full-time farmer nurturing project, ② previous recipient of direct payment (for rice, fixed dry field, disadvantaged region), ③ new applicant (farmer who cultivated 0.1ha and more/corporation: 5ha or with annual sales of 1.2 million won/corporation:4.5 million won for more than one year during the three years prior to application)
  • ** A farmer or an agricultural corporation under ② and ③ above not residing or located in rural areas should additionally meet the requirement for active farming(actually cultivating 1ha and more of farmland in the same city, gun, gu with 9 million won and more of annual agricultural sales, and residing in an urban area for more than one year prior to application while cultivating 0.1ha and more of farmland in the same urban area)
  • → The minimum farmland requirement was changed*. If the area of farmland was reduced when applying for direct payment, the applicant should verify that the land size was reduced for acceptable reasons**.
  • *(Before) 0.1ha and more of paddy field or dry field → (Current) 0.1ha and more of paddy field and dry field combined
  • **Transfer of ownership through sale, gift and inheritance, end of rent contract, etc.

Direct payment for small farms

• For small farms (not farmer), KRW 1.2 million a year is provided regardless of the land area
• (Scope of farm) Head and members of a household under the national identification system, part or all of whom are farmers, given their residence and livelihood
  • → In order to prevent the separation of household members to receive payments separately, a spouse and a single linear descendent under 19 and a member who has been separated for less than 3 years due to reasons other than marriage are all considered as members of the same household
• (Requirements) Direct payment for small farmers will be provided for those who fulfill all of the below requirements

Requirements and amount of direct payment for small farms

Area Direct Payment

• Area direct payment is provided if one meets basic requirements but not those for small farms
  • → (Section) The area section is divided into 3 stages: ① paddy fields and dry fields in agricultural promotion area (2ha and less) ② paddy fields outside the promotion area (Exceeding 2ha to 6ha and less) ③ dry fields outside the promotion area (Exceeding 6ha). The limit of section size is 30ha (50ha for agricultural corporation)
  • * Act on the Implementation of the Direct Payment Program for Agriculture and Rural Areas divides 3 stages of paddy fields and dry fields in agricultural promotion area, paddy fields outside the promotion area, and dry fields outside the promotion area
  • → (Payment unit) Payment unit is one million won per stage, and more and the retroactive unit price system in which the payment unit price decreases as the area increases is in place

Area Direct Payment Unit Price

• A farmer who applied for area direct payment will receive the amount where the total subject area is multiplied by unit price of each stage
  • → Also, a farmer who cultivates both in and outside of agricultural promotion area, unit price is applied in the order of paddy and dry fields in agricultural promotion area → paddy fields outside the promotion area → dry fields outside the promotion area

Farmers’ activities for public benefit (requirement)

• Compliance of farmers in the areas of environment, ecology and community has been expanded under the reorganized direct payment system
  • → In addition to 4 compliance activities under the Act on the Implementation of the Direct Payment Program for Agriculture and Rural Area, including maintaining the shape and function of farmland, meeting pesticide and chemical fertilizer standards and receiving training,
  • → 13 compliance activities including community activity, collecting farming waste, making farming records were newly included in the Enforcement Decree, and the detailed obligations were stipulated accordingly.
  • → As a result, 17 activities in the areas of environment, ecology, community and food safety were stipulated.

Areas and expected results of compliance requirements

• (Penalty) If failed to meet the compliance, 10% of the total of Basic Direct Payment will be reduced for each violation
  • → If failed to meet various compliances simultaneously, the penalty will be added up to 100%
  • → 20% of total amount will be reduced for repeated violation of the following year and 40% for three consecutive violations
  • → Given the preparation needed by farmers, new requirements and the reduction ratio for violations will be increased step by step, as the requirements have become more stringent than before.