Fixed direct payment rates for upland crop farms and for less-favoured area were increased in 2017, compared to previous year, to reach KRW 450 000 (USD 398) per ha,3 and KWR 550 000 (USD 354) per ha respectively. In both cases, the rate was increased by KRW 50 000 (USD 44) per ha or 12.5% for payments for farms, and 10% for direct payments for less-favoured areas, which is more than inflation.
In response to lower rice prices in a context of declining rice consumption, the government introduced a rice income compensation payment in 2005 to compensate farm revenue losses. The total value of this payment has been multiplied by close to 8 since 2015 to reach about KRW 1 500 billion (USD 1.3 billion) in 2017.
The government also announced a complementary plan in February 2017, which includes adjustments to the initial plan of 2015 with a view to balance the supply and demand by 2019. Among the range of policy measures, the area of rice paddies was reduced from 799 000 hectares in 2015 to 711 000 hectares in 2019, while crop diversification and the use of high quality seeds instead of high yield seeds are encouraged. To expand rice consumption, the government intends to strengthen R&D investment in rice food processing industries and reinforce dietary education on the nutritional value of rice. The release of public rice stocks for the use as feed increased from 90 000 tonnes in 2016 to 470 000 tonnes in 2017. In addition, the government plans to provide rice to developing countries through the APTERR (ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve).
Current rice policies, such as direct payments, the public stockholding scheme and farmland regulations, are to be re-examined to optimise the level of production. Further changes are foreseen in the Development Plan 2018‑22, which will succeed the 2015 Plan and 2017 Complementary Plan.
The total value of Direct payments for environment-friendly farming practices and Direct payments for landscape preservation continued to decline in 2017 for the second consecutive year since 2015. The five-year (2016‑20) promotion plan for environmentally-friendly agriculture, foresees the introduction of agricultural environmental protection programmes for soil conservation and water quality improvement, but no payment was made in 2016 and 2017.
The scope and coverage of the agricultural disaster insurance scheme were expanded to three additional products (citron, fig, and crown daisy raised in facilities). In addition, the base for compensation of tangerine losses has changed from compensation for falling fruits to reduction in quality.
Agriculture’s productivity enhancement is promoted through R&D investment. Within the Golden Seed Project, KRW 491 billion (USD 434 million) are to be invested during the ten years from 2012 to 2021 by both the government and the private sector in order to develop domestic seeds and promote seed export. By 2017, 386 new varieties were developed. A private breeding research complex, upholding seed companies’ research of varieties and industrialisation, was completed in October 2016. In 2017, the collaborative projects are to promote the development of small automated farm machinery, which can be easily used by aged and female farmers; the upgrade of the farmland observation system by using drones; and the development of a big data-based model to predict the supply and demand of crops.
The Korea national food cluster (Foodpolis), an R&D-focused and export-oriented platform established with an area of 2.32 square kilometres, was completed in December 2017. In order to support food companies that purchased or rented land, the government has been operating specific R&D facilities from end of 2016: the food functionality assessment centre, the food quality safety centre and the food packaging centre. The companies can benefit from a range of subsidies and tax exemptions. In particular, foreign investment companies are eligible for the reduction or exemption of site rents for up to 50 years, if they fulfil certain requirements such as on the size of investment or the level of technologies. As of December 2017, 48 Korean food companies and two foreign investment enterprises signed for moving into the Foodpolis and are in the process of constructing their plants.
From 2017, a single private certification organisation can provide certificates for environmentally-friendly agricultural products, which had previously been provided by both public and private organisations. In addition, products from organic agriculture were integrated into the National Agricultural Products Quality Management system. A system to certify direct transaction of agricultural produce will be adopted, with strengthened support for training, consulting and promotion to facilitate adoption. The scope of the system ensuring traceability in livestock products was expanded to include meat processed for direct sales.
Support is made available for manufacturers of processed products, restaurants and school catering to promote the use of local products. The provision of free milk in schools will be expanded to older students from lower income families.
The labelling of the rice quality grades was generalised. As of 2018, one of the grades “best, good, average, fail” should be mentioned and the label “non-inspection” is no longer accepted.
Measures concerning the reporting of pest and disease were introduced both at the domestic and the border levels. For example, it became mandatory for plant growers to report the occurrence of pests and diseases subject to quarantine. Border measures for pest and disease control are described in the next section.
As a step towards administrative simplification, farmers applying for assistance no longer need to provide a registration certificate of agricultural business; the business operating agency (NACF) now provides necessary information directly.
Regarding institutional changes in agricultural organisations, following the re-structuring of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) the Nonghyup Business Holding was established. The activities of the two organisations are specified as follows:
NACF is in charge of training for members’ associations, and of implementing mutual financial projects.
Nonghyup Business Holding is to focus on business activities such as the sale or distribution of agricultural and livestock products.