Jeonnam Province Achieves Record Largest Area for Organic Agricultural Product Certification Last Year

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province achieved the largest-ever certified organic farming area last year.

This is analyzed as a result of implementing a policy to solidify eco-friendly agriculture centered on organic farming since the 7th local government administration.

According to Jeonnam Province on the 14th, based on the ‘Eco-friendly Agricultural Products Information System’ compiled by the Agricultural Products Quality Management Service as of the end of last year, the certified organic farming area in Jeonnam increased by 8,167 hectares from 15,722 hectares in 2019 to 23,889 hectares, securing the largest area ever.

This accounts for 62% of the nationwide certified organic farming area of 38,697 hectares.

In particular, among the total certified area of 40,641 hectares in the province, organic farming accounted for 51.8% with 23,889 hectares, surpassing the pesticide-free certified area of 22,152 hectares.

The certified areas for income crops such as fruit trees and vegetables also increased significantly. Fruit trees increased by 93 hectares from 2019 to 1,033 hectares, and vegetables increased by a remarkable 508 hectares to 1,292 hectares, showing a trend of product diversification.

The main factors contributing to the success of the quality enhancement strategy centered on organic farming are analyzed as follows: ▲ separation of the Food and Horticulture Division from the Eco-friendly Agriculture Division since the 7th local government administration ▲ focus on policies to strengthen eco-friendly agriculture competitiveness ▲ designation of the nation’s first organic farming master ▲ implementation of differentiated policies such as organic farming direct payment and comprehensive insurance support.

Additionally, according to the ‘Eco-friendly Agricultural Products Price Information’ from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, the transaction prices of organic agricultural products were confirmed to be about 1.5 to 2.5 times higher than those of conventional agricultural products.

In fact, organic rice was priced at 58,039 KRW per 10 kg, 2.5 times higher than conventional products; staple crops such as sweet potatoes were 7,159 KRW per kg, 1.5 times higher; and vegetables such as tomatoes were 9,807 KRW per kg, 1.9 times higher.

Furthermore, 18,000 tons (63 billion KRW) of eco-friendly agricultural products from Jeonnam are supplied 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 are supplied annually to all schools in the province, contributing to stable market channels.

So Young-ho, Director of the Agriculture, Livestock and Food Bureau of Jeonnam Province, said, “We will continuously discover and nurture successful models of low-cost, high-income practices centered on organic farming,” and added, “We will develop Jeonnam’s eco-friendly agriculture into an eco-friendly rural convergence industry encompassing production, processing, experience, and tourism.”

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