Gangjin-gun Proves to Be Jeonnam's Best in Agricultural Evaluation and Awards... Achieves Triple Crown

Excellent Online Parcel Sales Performance Utilizing Agricultural Product Customer Database

Gangjin-gun received the grand prize in the food and horticulture work evaluation. ⓒ Asia Economy

[Gangjin＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-su] Gangjin-gun, Jeollanam-do received the ‘Grand Prize’ in the Jeollanam-do ‘Agricultural Policy Evaluation’ and the Comprehensive Evaluation of Rural Development Projects by the Agricultural Technology Institute, the ‘Grand Prize’ in the Food and Horticulture Work Evaluation, and the ‘Excellence Award’ in the Jeollanam-do Agricultural Products Distribution Work Evaluation.

According to the county on the 30th, since the inauguration of County Governor Lee Seung-ok in the 7th local government, they have succeeded in winning awards for four consecutive years in agricultural policy and distribution evaluations, once again proving that they are the best in the agricultural sector in Jeonnam.

Among the 22 cities and counties in Jeonnam, Gangjin-gun achieved remarkable success in several external evaluations by being recognized for major agricultural policy initiatives such as activating direct transactions of agricultural products through building a customer DB for purchasing agricultural specialties, direct sales of fresh flowers amid the COVID-19 crisis, development and promotion of Gangjin aged kimchi and oat food products, and developing independent policies.

This achievement is regarded as the result of focusing administrative capabilities on revitalizing distribution-centered direct sales to increase farmers’ income through direct transaction activation, a core pledge of the 7th local government.

In particular, they successfully established a systematic customer DB of about 180,000 agricultural specialty product buyers by region and type, laying the foundation for lifelong customer retention.

The established customer DB is utilized for sending letters and promotional materials for agricultural specialties during holidays and new rice seasons, and by pioneering new markets, they received the Minister of Agriculture Food Award at the 17th Local Autonomy Management Competition.

Additionally, during the COVID-19 crisis, the county built the nation’s first ‘Online Direct Sales System for Flower Complexes,’ selling a total of 897,907 stems of four types of flowers including roses, statice, hydrangeas, and peonies, generating sales of 1.8 billion KRW. As consumer trends rapidly shifted from offline to online due to social distancing and reduced mobility, the county secured a stable distribution network by expanding the entry of its online shopping mall ‘Chorokmideum Direct Transaction Support Center’ and Jeonnam Province’s ‘Namdo Market.’

Furthermore, at the local food direct store installed in Gangjin Nonghyup Farmers Market, which has the highest number of agricultural specialty product buyers in the area, 393 farmers ship and sell 660 items.

The county expects to achieve total sales of over 3.7 billion KRW this year and continues to expand public food supply to Dongjak-gu, Seoul, promoting urban-rural coexistence.

Moreover, Gangjin-gun is realizing progressive agricultural policies such as developing specialty products using representative local agricultural products, fostering processed rice oat foods and aged kimchi, designating the Gangjin-gun Yeonbangjuk ecological circulation waterway agricultural system as a National Important Agricultural Heritage, and designating it as a World Irrigation Facility Heritage.

Through active promotional marketing, the county achieved a total direct sales target of 35.4 billion KRW for agricultural specialty products this year, which is a 43% increase compared to December last year.

Governor Lee Seung-ok said, “Gangjin-gun’s external awards in agricultural policy evaluation, distribution evaluation, and food horticulture evaluation were the result of active agricultural specialty product marketing activities carried out together by the county and farmers. Although it is a difficult time for everyone due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, we will do our best to respond proactively to changes in the distribution environment and increase farmers’ actual income by utilizing both online and offline channels.”

Meanwhile, Gangjin-gun received awards in 42 different external evaluation fields conducted by central government ministries, Jeonnam Province, and institutions this year, securing performance bonuses of over 470 million KRW and enhancing its external status.

Gangjin＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-su kys86120@asiae.co.kr

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