Construction of Iksan-type Food Plan Control Tower 'Food Integrated Support Center'

Goal to Establish a Virtuous Cycle System for Processing, Distribution, and Consumption Regions

Photo by Iksan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hong Jaehee] Iksan City, Jeonbuk, is accelerating the establishment of a virtuous cycle system that processes, distributes, and consumes food resources produced locally within the region.

To this end, the city is stepping up efforts to prepare the Iksan-type Food Plan, created jointly by producers and consumers, by establishing a public food supply system and a public-private governance framework.

According to the city on the 21st, it is promoting the construction of the (Foundation) Food Integrated Support Center, which will serve as the comprehensive control tower for the Iksan-type Food Plan.

The center will operate from a public perspective rather than for profit, overseeing the execution of Iksan's food strategy projects. It will promote projects such as expanding the supply system of local ingredients for local food and school/public meals and establishing a planned production system.

The city has completed a feasibility study for the center's construction and plans to enact an ordinance containing operational plans in the second half of the year after gathering residents' opinions and going through the establishment review process, thereby laying the institutional foundation before starting the establishment of the operating entity.

Earlier, the city held the final report meeting for the 'Food Plan Establishment Service,' which has been underway since last year, on the 11th. As a result, based on the vision of 'Building a Future Food Ecosystem in Iksan City Where Citizens Are Happy,' six major strategies, ten strategic tasks, and 72 detailed projects were proposed.

The plan includes establishing a sustainable food production system through a contract cultivation system to expand local food and public meals, and building a local circulation procurement system by producing safe processed foods using local agricultural products.

Additionally, it includes measures to activate local food through the introduction of various certification systems to establish a local circulation distribution system for agricultural products and to expand food consumption channels by increasing public meals.

The city has continuously shared and communicated the progress of the service by establishing a public-private cooperation system to reflect local conditions in the food plan and incorporated the opinions of related experts and producing farmers into the final service results.

Once the Iksan-type food strategy is fully implemented, it is expected to not only expand related markets but also create an environment where small-scale and elderly farmers can farm with peace of mind without worrying about sales channels. The establishment of a local agricultural product virtuous cycle system will enable the return of added value to the region, contributing to the revitalization of the rural economy.

Mayor Jeong Heon-yul said, “With a food strategy that reflects the characteristics of the region, we expect to provide stable income generation and stable jobs for farmers and safe food for consumers,” adding, “Based on this, we will build a local virtuous cycle economic system.”

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