Gwangyang-si Accelerates Technical Support to Enhance Farmers' Competitiveness

Implementation of Sector-Specific Agricultural Technologies and Support Projects for the Dissemination of New Agricultural Technologies

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seonsik] Gwangyang City announced on the 4th that it will provide technical dissemination support in the fields of ▲farmer education ▲future agriculture ▲food crops ▲urban agriculture to help farmers settle stably, reduce production costs, and generate income.

◇ Farmer Education Field

The city will conduct education and consulting by regionally specialized items, settlement support education for new farmers (returning to farming and rural areas), and professional skill development education for women farmers to foster specialized agricultural personnel and stabilize agricultural production and increase added value.

Education and consulting by regionally specialized items will be promoted focusing on production and distribution by inviting experts to foster regionally specialized items.

In particular, to help new farmers settle in Gwangyang, theoretical education will be combined with on-site practical training where they directly farm at agricultural sites.

◇ Future Agriculture Field

The city will promote 11 pilot projects with a total budget of 420 million KRW to stabilize production in the fields of fruit trees, vegetables, flowers, and special crops, activate smart farms, and foster regionally specialized crops.

To stabilize fruit tree production, a pilot project for technology to reduce damage from abnormal weather is underway, and a pest control pilot project is being conducted to prepare countermeasures against peach seed borer damage in stone fruits such as maesil (Korean plum).

To expand smart farms and improve on-site support systems based on big data, projects such as the establishment of a single-span greenhouse smart farm complex, ICT convergence horticultural crop environment management automation pilot, and high-raised strawberry cultivation pilot are planned.

Additionally, packaging materials will be supported for regional specialized crops such as ginger, subtropical fruits, flowers, and chwinamul (a type of edible wild greens).

◇ Food Crops Field

The city operates agricultural microorganism laboratories, comprehensive testing laboratories, and pest diagnosis laboratories to realize scientific farming.

The agricultural microorganism laboratory produces seven types of beneficial microorganisms (photosynthetic bacteria, Bacillus subtilis, lactic acid bacteria, Chlorella, white rot fungus, BT bacteria, BV bacteria) and provides 300L of microorganisms free of charge per farm annually.

By providing microorganisms, fertilizer and pesticide use is reduced, lowering farm management costs, producing high-quality agricultural products, and contributing to reducing environmental pollution in the region.

The comprehensive testing laboratory analyzes and prescribes essential agricultural samples such as soil, water quality, compost, and liquid fertilizer.

Notably, it issues fertilization prescriptions for eco-friendly certification, conducts soil analysis for public payment system compliance checks, tests compost and liquid fertilizer components for livestock manure resource recycling, pollen germination rate tests, and provides on-site diagnosis services for farmers’ difficulties, conducting about 4,500 analyses and prescriptions annually to contribute to increasing farmers’ income.

◇ Urban Agriculture Field

The city produces 2.61 million seasonal flowers of 36 species to create a beautiful city where flowers and forests harmonize and strives to create attractions for visitors at the Agricultural Technology Center’s test plots.

To activate urban residents’ horticulture, the city plans to operate weekend farms for urban residents, provide pot repotting experiences in apartment complexes, and support the creation of box gardens in the city center.

At the agricultural machinery rental center, women-friendly agricultural machinery and outdated agricultural machinery will be replaced with new models and safely rented to farmers.

Furthermore, the city plans to activate safe use of agricultural machinery through the operation of a mobile agricultural machinery repair team, support for obtaining licenses for small and medium-sized agricultural machinery, and on-site practical training for agricultural machinery.

Information on technical dissemination support projects is posted on the Agricultural Technology Center website, and applications can be submitted until February 5 at the agricultural consultation offices in eup, myeon, and dong districts and the Technical Dissemination Division.

Choi Yeonsong, head of the Technical Dissemination Division, said, “We will strive to advance Gwangyang’s agriculture by fostering professional farmers and discovering and supporting various projects,” and added, “We ask for many applications for education and various support projects.”

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