Seoul city to provide up to 10 million won in support for urban farmers to purchase agricultural machinery.

(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Hwang Jae-ha = On the 6th, Seoul City announced that it will support 60% of the purchase cost of agricultural machinery, up to a maximum of 10 million won, in order to alleviate the burden on farmers who are facing difficulties due to reduced farm income, an aging farming population, and labor shortages. Eligibility for the support is registered farmers who have resided in Seoul for more than one year and have been cultivating farmland in a ward, town, or village connected to Seoul City for more than one year. Each farm can receive support for one piece of machinery, including attachments. The support amount is 60% of the purchase cost for agricultural machinery under 50 million won (30% from Seoul City, 30% from the agricultural cooperative), up to a maximum of 6 million won, and up to 10 million won for machinery priced at 50 million won or more. The final amount of support will be determined by the selection committee, and any difference in the amount of support will be borne by the applying farm. The supported machinery is limited to those listed in the 'Government-Supported Agricultural Machinery List' issued by the Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative Federation. Examples include tillers, cold storage facilities, and dryers. Applications will be accepted at local agricultural cooperatives until the 25th of this month. The selection committee will choose the recipients based on farming scale, age, income level, etc., and the results will be individually notified in April. For more information, contact the Seoul City Agricultural Products Distribution Division and Agricultural Support Team, the Seoul Head Office of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, or local agricultural cooperatives. Yang Gwang-suk, Director of the Seoul City Agricultural Products Distribution Division, said, "We hope that this support for the purchase cost of agricultural machinery will help reduce the workload of farmers facing difficulties due to aging and labor shortages, and alleviate the increased management burden due to rising agricultural material costs and labor costs."