The income threshold for farmers to receive area direct payments will increase from 37 million won to 47 million won. This adjustment, the first in 17 years, is expected to add approximately 10,000 farmers to the list of those eligible for direct payments.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on August 26 that it has issued a revised notice on the 'comprehensive income amount standard outside of agriculture.'
Area direct payments are restricted when a farmer's non-agricultural income exceeds a government-set threshold. The current threshold of 37 million won was established in 2009, based on the average household income of 36.74 million won from 2007, which was the latest available data at that time.
Since then, both prices and household incomes have risen, but the threshold has not been adjusted. This has led to criticism that farmers engaging in other economic activities to supplement their agricultural income were being excluded from direct payments due to outdated income criteria.
In response, the government amended the Public Interest Direct Payment Act on May 12, allowing the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to set the non-agricultural income threshold above 43 million won. The new regulation also mandates that the threshold be reviewed and updated every five years based on household income statistics.
Considering the median income of single-person households and the annual growth rate from the past five years, the Ministry has set the new threshold at 47 million won.
The revised standard will take effect on November 13, the implementation date of the Public Interest Direct Payment Act. However, the new threshold will also apply to farmers who registered for area direct payments this year.
Based on last year's applicants, the Ministry estimates that an additional 10,000 farmers could receive a total of 9.9 billion won in area direct payments.
Kang Dong-yoon, Director of Rural Income and Energy Policy at the Ministry, stated, "By raising the non-agricultural income threshold to 47 million won for the first time in 17 years, we expect to further enhance the income safety net for farming households."
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.