Government, improvement of rice field drainage in South Korea, focus on water supply and demand in drought areas

The government has decided to expand the areas subject to drainage improvement in field crop cultivation areas so that farmers can stably grow field crops in rice fields. In addition, the water supply capacity of small and medium-sized reservoirs will be expanded and the water supply capacity of habitual drought areas will be expanded. On the 26th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs released the “2023-2032 Agricultural Production Base Maintenance Plan (hereinafter referred to as the maintenance plan)” containing these contents. The maintenance plan is a statutory plan established every 10 years in accordance with the ‘Rural Community Maintenance Act’. In line with the expansion of paddy crop cultivation, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will expand the area subject to drainage improvement in field crop cultivation areas by 17,000 hectares from 303,000 hectares to 320,000 hectares. In addition, by 2027, the production of a farmland flood risk map ...