[Interview] Lee Sung, Guro-gu Mayor, "Focusing on Expanding Infrastructure to Meet the Growing Demand for Urban Agriculture Participation"

Last Month, Hangdong Urban Agriculture Experience Center Opened: Advanced Technology Cultivates Crops at Smart Farm Center, Featuring Flower Mushroom Farm and Beekeeping Experience; Harvests Prioritized for Vulnerable Residents

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “We are striving to build infrastructure to revitalize urban agriculture, such as smart farm centers, in response to the growing demand from residents for agricultural experience.”

Lee Seong, the mayor of Guro-gu, stated in an interview with Asia Economy that efforts are being made to revitalize urban agriculture to supply eco-friendly food to residents and provide opportunities for nature experiences.

Last month, Guro-gu opened the Hangdong Urban Agriculture Experience Center, covering 9,977㎡, equipped with a purification pond, terraced rice paddy experience site, and a ‘Smart Farm Center’ (576㎡). Among these, the Smart Farm Center offers a glimpse into future agriculture by integrating information and communication technology (ICT).

Smart farms are intelligent agricultural systems that use the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence technology to manage crop growth environments without constraints of time and space. They offer high spatial efficiency and enable eco-friendly and stable crop cultivation such as hydroponics.

The ‘Smart Farm Center’ consists of vertical farms, smart greenhouses, a caf?, and convenience facilities.

Vertical farms, which grow crops in drawer-like vertical structures, replace sunlight with LED lighting and maintain optimal growth conditions by managing temperature and humidity through sensors. Here, European salad vegetables such as butterhead and romaine are cultivated regardless of season. Strawberries are grown in the smart greenhouse.

Guro-gu plans to operate experience programs using the smart farm, such as harvest experiences and salad making.

Similar to the Smart Farm Center, European salad vegetables are also grown in the subway station. To this end, a ‘Smart Farm’ was established at the ‘Youth Dream’ total job platform on the basement first floor of Cheonwang Station on Subway Line 7.

Mayor Lee Seong explained, “When I visited Windsor City, Canada in 2017, I saw smart farm technology and felt the need to introduce it. Agricultural products produced at the Smart Farm Center are primarily provided to vulnerable residents, and the supply will be expanded to general residents through local schools and consumer cooperatives.”

Guro-gu is also cultivating ‘Kkot Song-i Beoseot’ (flower mushroom), which is known for its anticancer effects, in Oryu-dong. The Guro Senior Club operates a flower mushroom farm as part of a market-type senior job project.

At this farm, eight seniors work in pairs for three hours a day, growing flower mushrooms. Since the mushrooms are sensitive to humidity and temperature and die quickly if growth conditions are not met, careful management is the main task. The harvested mushrooms are supplied at affordable prices through local consumer cooperatives.

Mayor Lee said, “Cultivating flower mushrooms can achieve a twofold effect of revitalizing urban agriculture and creating quality jobs for seniors.”

Additionally, Guro-gu operates urban agriculture experience centers of 1,700㎡ at the Anyangcheon riverside and 1,800㎡ on idle green space near Oryu IC to provide natural learning opportunities for children. Through these centers, children can directly plant and harvest potatoes, napa cabbage, and rice, and the harvests have been donated to neighbors in need.

Furthermore, weekend farms and beekeeping experience sites are operated in Gung-dong to allow residents to try various agricultural experiences. The beekeeping experience site offers diverse programs including theoretical classes, honey extraction experiences, and beekeeper training.

Mayor Lee stated, “Preferences for eco-friendly food and the importance of urban agriculture are expected to increase further. We will expand urban agriculture infrastructure so that residents can enjoy the pleasure of farming near their homes and living in harmony with nature.”

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