Agriculture ministry allocates additional W2.1b to combat southern drought

South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will inject an additional 2.1 billion won ($1.46 million) in emergency funds to address a severe drought gripping the country's southern regions, the ministry announced Saturday.

The ministry had already allocated 8 billion won — 10 billion won including local government contributions — in March to expand agricultural water supply facilities in drought-prone areas ahead of the main farming season. The latest round of emergency funding targets the Gyeongsang and Jeolla provinces, where drought conditions have become most acute.

The additional funds will be used for short-term measures to secure agricultural water, including riverbed excavation, installation of pumping facilities and deployment of water tanker trucks.

Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryeong visited Chodong Reservoir in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, and nearby farmland on Saturday to inspect drought-response efforts. Rainfall in South Gyeongsang Province over the two months from June 1 through July 31 totaled 162 millimeters, just 33 percent of the historical average of 487 millimeters, according to the ministry.

The reservoir storage rate in the Miryang area stood at 32.6 percent, the lowest in the country. The storage rate measures the percentage of a reservoir's maximum capacity that is currently filled with water. Five of the eight major drought-response reservoirs across the Yeongnam and Honam regions have already fallen below 40 percent capacity. Visiting the nearby farmland, Song said the ministry would "concentrate all available resources and administrative capacity so that farmers can farm with peace of mind."