S. Korea to spend 186 bln won in extra budget for farm sector

SEOUL, March 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Thursday it plans to allocate 186 billion won (US$164 million) in extra budget to support farmers reeling from the new coronavirus pandemic. Under the plan, the country plans to hand out 300,000 won worth of vouchers each to small-sized farms that suffered financial damage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Around 450,000 farms are expected to benefit from the program. The country will also spend 8.1 billion won to support farms facing troubles in securing foreign workers due to travel restrictions imposed amid the virus pandemic. The budget includes projects to renovate accommodations of employees as well. Agricultural businesses hit hard by the social distancing schemes, including flower farms and suppliers of fresh produce for school lunches, will receive 1 million won subsidies each, the ministry said. colin@yna.co.kr (END)