About 1.33 million applications filed for public interest direct payments; disbursements to begin in November

About 1.332 million applications were filed this year for the basic public interest direct payment program. While the number of applications edged up from last year, the total farmland area covered fell due to factors including conversion of agricultural land. The government plans to disburse payments from November after verifying eligibility.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Tuesday that it received about 1.332 million applications covering roughly 1.046 million hectares under this year's basic public interest direct payment program.

The number of applications rose by 2,000 from last year's 1.33 million. The total area applied for, however, fell by 25,000 hectares from last year's 1.071 million hectares.

The ministry attributed the decline in area to a shrinking pool of eligible farmland, driven by a decrease in the farming population and the conversion of agricultural land to other uses. It said the number of applications nonetheless ticked up slightly, as the number of people returning to farming rose for the first time in four years and the non-farm income threshold for disqualification from the program was raised.

The ministry also expanded access to remote applications this year. Previously, applicants whose registered parcels or acreage had changed were required to apply in person, but the ministry has now made online applications available even in such cases. The remote application window was also extended from one month to three months.

The ministry will now verify whether applicants qualify as small-scale farmers, whether the farmland in question meets eligibility requirements, and whether applicants are actually farming the land. It will also check compliance with 16 obligations, including maintaining the shape and function of farmland and adhering to standards for pesticide and fertilizer use. For recipients classified under long-term care ratings for the elderly and for those farming land outside their registered municipality, the ministry plans to confirm actual cultivation in conjunction with a comprehensive farmland survey.

The ministry will finalize the list of eligible recipients and payment amounts by the end of October, then disburse the payments from November through the end of the year.

Kang Dong-yun, the ministry's director general for rural income and energy policy, said the ministry would "continue to improve the system so that farmers receive tangible benefits, while also upgrading the safeguards against fraudulent claims."