Farmers no longer need land-conversion permits to build toilets, parking lots on farmland

Farmers who need a toilet or a parking spot for work vehicles will no longer have to go through a separate farmland-conversion process to build one. Under new rules, facilities that meet certain standards will be recognized as part of the farmland itself, requiring only a notification to authorities. The simplified procedure will also apply to housing and retail establishments built in rural special zones.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced Thursday that amendments to the enforcement decree of the Farmland Act will take effect Friday.

The revisions focus on easing farmland regulations to reduce inconveniences farmers face during their work and to allow necessary rural facilities to be built more quickly.

Installing toilets and parking lots on farmland will become significantly easier. A ministry survey found that 76 percent of farmers said they needed access to a toilet while working in the fields, and 64.5 percent said they needed parking space for work vehicles.

Previously, installing a toilet or parking lot on farmland required a separate farmland-conversion procedure. Going forward, sites for farmer-use toilets and parking lots that meet certain standards will be recognized as part of the farmland, allowing installation through a simple notification rather than a conversion permit.

Procedures for building housing and retail establishments in rural villages will also be streamlined. Until now, even when a city or county designated a rural special zone under a rural spatial plan to expand residential and lifestyle service facilities, anyone wishing to build a house or neighborhood commercial facility on farmland still had to obtain a farmland-conversion permit.

Under the new rules, facilities that match the purpose of certain rural special zones — including rural village protection zones — can be installed with a notification instead of a permit. Rural village protection zones cover single-family homes, retail shops and casual dining establishments, while agricultural heritage zones cover exhibition halls, experience centers and campsites.

However, the exemption does not apply to all farmland. It covers only cases where designated facilities are built below the standard size within rural special zones located outside agricultural promotion areas.

The period during which farmland may be used for agricultural, fishery and livestock facilities such as fish farms and aquaculture operations will also be extended. The current maximum for a temporary alternative-use permit is 12 years; under the new rules it will extend to 20 years, with an initial five-year permit renewable three times in five-year increments. The change is intended to lower the investment burden for facilities that require high upfront costs and long-term operation.

Reward payments for reporting violations of the Farmland Act will also be significantly expanded. Previously, a tipster could only receive a reward after a prosecutor filed criminal charges. Going forward, rewards will also be paid when an administrative disposition — such as a corrective order — is finalized.

The annual reward cap per person will increase tenfold, from 1.5 million won ($1,080) to 15 million won. Illegal lease arrangements on farmland will also be newly added to the list of violations eligible for reward payments.

Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryeong said the government would maintain its principle of preserving farmland while removing regulations that make it unnecessarily difficult to install facilities essential for farming or for revitalizing rural communities. "We will continue to identify farmland regulation improvements that farmers can feel on the ground," she said.