Jeonnam Province Achieves Record High Certification for Eco-Friendly Organic Agricultural Products

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] As a result of Jeonnam Province's policy to solidify eco-friendly agriculture centered on organic farming during the 7th local government administration, organic farming has surpassed pesticide-free certified areas for the first time in 17 years since focusing on eco-friendly agriculture.

According to Jeonnam Province on the 23rd, as of the end of last month, the certified area for organic agricultural products in the province reached 22,787 hectares, an increase of 7,065 hectares from 15,722 hectares during the same period last year, securing the largest area ever recorded, according to the 'Eco-friendly Agricultural Products Information System' statistics.

This accounts for 60.6% of the nationwide organic agricultural product certified area of 37,610 hectares.

In particular, among the total certified area of 44,567 hectares in the province, organic farming accounts for 22,787 hectares (51%), surpassing the pesticide-free certified area of 21,780 hectares (49%) for the first time ever.

The 'diversification of items centered on fruit trees and vegetables' also exceeded this year's targets.

Fruit trees increased by 2 hectares from the target of 1,082 hectares this year to 1,084 hectares, and vegetables increased by 143 hectares from 1,048 hectares to 1,191 hectares.

The main reasons why the province succeeded in the quality enhancement strategy centered on organic farming are analyzed to be the separation of the Food and Horticulture Division from the Eco-friendly Agriculture Division during the 7th local government administration, focused policies to strengthen eco-friendly agriculture competitiveness, designation of the first organic farming master in the nation, continuous organic farming direct payments, and differentiated policies such as support for organic farming comprehensive insurance.

Additionally, 18,000 tons (63 billion KRW) of eco-friendly agricultural products from Jeonnam were supplied last year to about 6,000 kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools in Seoul and other areas, and 3,362 tons (2 billion KRW) of organic rice were supplied annually to all schools in the province, which also contributed significantly.

Lee Jeong-hee, head of the Eco-friendly Agriculture Division of Jeonnam Province, said, “We will expand the supply chain of eco-friendly agricultural products to public meals such as schools and military units, as well as bundle supply projects, and diversify through exports and non-face-to-face sales to secure stable distribution channels. We will focus on supporting and fostering the diversification of items centered on organic farming.”

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