Gyeongsangnam-do Secures 3.25 Billion Won in Special Grants for Drought Response ... All-Out Efforts for Agricultural Water Supply

Gyeongsangnam-do has secured national funding and special grants to supply agricultural water to farming families suffering from drought.

Currently, due to ongoing drought and heatwaves, the average agricultural water reservoir rate in Gyeongsangnam-do is at 39.2%, which is 53.9% of the normal level of 72.7%.

Changwon, Jinju, Gimhae, Miryang, Geoje, Yangsan, Uiryeong, Haman, Changnyeong, Hadong, and Sancheong have entered the 'alert' stage for agricultural drought.

Gyeongnam Provincial Government Office.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

To secure agricultural water, Gyeongsangnam-do visited the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on July 29 to request the maximum possible water development support for drought response and special grants.

As a result, 1.5 billion won from the national budget was confirmed on July 30, and an additional 3.25 billion won in special grants was secured on August 4.

The secured budget will be allocated to emergency water supply projects such as mobilizing water trucks, dredging reservoirs, installing pumping stations and water pipelines, developing wells, and supporting pumps and water supply equipment.

In particular, 22 wildfire fighting vehicles from the Korea Forest Service will be mobilized to spray water in Miryang, where severe drought is expected to seriously damage crops.

Each city and county is also making every effort to supply emergency agricultural water, including mobilizing water trucks by utilizing available budget resources.

Additionally, the province has proposed an extra 2.1 billion won for installing pumps and pipelines in the Muan-myeon and Chodong-myeon areas of Miryang, as well as 7.7 billion won for additional well installations across the province.

The province plans to swiftly allocate the secured national funds and special grants to ensure stable agricultural water supply and minimize farming damage caused by drought.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.