The government plans to spend more than ¥560 billion next year to compensate rice farmers for possible losses from falling price, officials said Tuesday.

The Finance Ministry agreed to include ¥561.8 billion for the program in a draft budget for fiscal 2010, as requested by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry.

The government will first implement the program for rice growers, aiming to cover possible losses if production costs overshoot market prices. Farmers can choose whether to join the program.

The government plans to expand the program in the future to cover livestock farmers and fishery workers.

For rice farmers, the ministries agreed to pay each farming household joining the program a fixed amount of ¥15,000 per 100 sq. meters of paddy.