The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has proposed a budget of 22.2215 trillion won for 2027, marking a 10.4% increase from this year. This increase is the largest since 2000, both in terms of amount and percentage. The budget includes over 3 trillion won for public payments and a significant expansion of the rural basic income pilot program, along with new initiatives such as price stabilization measures and physical AI.
On September 1, the ministry announced that the proposed budget represents an increase of 2.0853 trillion won from last year's 20.1362 trillion won. This figure includes 1.1921 trillion won allocated for a future response fund.
The budget also plans to repay 3.1 trillion won in accumulated debt across four funds related to farmland management, agricultural price stabilization, free trade agreements, and livestock development. Including this repayment, the total financial scale of the ministry for 2027 would reach 25.3081 trillion won, a 25.7% increase from the previous year.
To enhance income safety nets for farmers, the public payment budget will rise from 2.9703 trillion won this year to 3.0615 trillion won. The payment rate for non-promotional area crops will be increased to match that of rice, and support for strategic crop payments will also be expanded. A new agricultural price stabilization measure, worth 9.1 billion won, will be introduced to compensate for any price drops below the standard price.
Efforts to address climate change and livestock diseases will also be strengthened. The agricultural disaster insurance budget will increase from 776.9 billion won to 831.3 billion won, and a new crop co-insurance program for hard-to-insure crops will be established with a budget of 7.7 billion won. Additionally, 44 billion won will be allocated for the proactive procurement of SAT1-type foot-and-mouth disease vaccines, and an AI-based quarantine package project will be initiated.
Support for young farmers will be expanded as well. A new 'Young Farmer School' will be established to connect training and field practice for 1,150 participants, and the loan amount for successor farmer cultivation funds will increase from 1 trillion won to 1.13 trillion won. The area of public rental farmland available for young farmers will also grow from 5,230 hectares to 6,800 hectares.
To drive structural innovation in agricultural production and distribution, support for joint farming corporations will be increased, and the foundation for smart agriculture will be expanded. Funding for joint farming facilities and equipment will rise from 2.6 billion won to 22.8 billion won, and investments will be made in building smart fulfillment centers and expanding smart agricultural product distribution centers.
Notably, the rural basic income pilot program aimed at improving living conditions in rural areas will see a substantial increase from 304.7 billion won to 1.1658 trillion won. The number of target regions will expand from 17 to 35, and the government support ratio will rise from 40% to 50%. Support for AI-based demand-responsive transportation services will also increase from 29 billion won to 72.4 billion won.
New investments aimed at securing future growth drivers are also noteworthy. A budget of 20.8 billion won will be allocated for the demonstration and dissemination of physical AI in agriculture, along with the distribution of 210 AI agricultural robots. To boost K-Food exports, support for export vouchers and promising market development will be expanded, and a new fund of 136 billion won for overseas expansion of K-food ingredients will be introduced.
To enhance the efficiency of financial operations, the ministry plans to integrate funds. A new 'Agricultural Development Fund' will be established by merging three existing funds related to farmland management, agricultural price stabilization, and free trade agreements, with plans to utilize additional resources such as agricultural special taxes.
Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung stated, "We will diligently invest the financial resources secured through increased agricultural special tax revenues to address the challenges facing agriculture and rural areas and prepare for the future."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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