First Harvest of Domestic Wheat in Wando: '150 Tons Expected This Year'

Expectations for Marine Healing Food Development and Increased Farm Income

[Wando＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Kyungpil] On the 9th, the first harvest of domestic wheat was made in the barley complex in Nohwa-eup, Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do.

According to the county on the 15th, the wheat harvested this time is a new variety called ‘Saegumgang,’ and a total of 140 tons will be harvested and shipped from 35 hectares in Gunoe-myeon and Gogeum-myeon.

The county introduced domestic wheat for the first time in November last year and sowed it to supply domestic agricultural products to consumers and increase farmers' income, following the enactment of the Wheat Industry Promotion Act in 2020 and the revival of the government purchase system.

Since May last year, the Agricultural Technology Center has repeatedly visited the domestic wheat specialized cultivation complex and the purchasing company, Korea Domestic Wheat Agricultural Cooperative, explaining the advantages of cultivation using Wando's geographical characteristics formed by islands, and successfully concluded contract cultivation with the Nonghyup.

In January, a business agreement was signed with the Korea Domestic Wheat Agricultural Cooperative for the promotion and development of the domestic wheat industry, and this fall, the cultivation area will be expanded to more than 100 hectares to create a specialized complex.

In particular, Wando-gun was selected for the Rural Development Administration's pilot project ‘Domestic Wheat Valleyization Pilot Project,’ establishing a foundation not only for contract cultivation of domestic wheat but also for processing and product development.

In a situation where the importance of food security is emerging recently, the domestic wheat specialization project promoted to foster domestic agricultural products is expected to contribute to improving farmers' income.

Lee Bok-seon, director of the Agricultural Technology Center, said, “The domestic wheat cultivation project, along with the functional colored barley project, which is a base crop for the marine healing industry, will establish itself as a differentiated specialization project of Wando-gun and contribute to the development of Wando agriculture.”

Meanwhile, the Agricultural Technology Center plans to accept applications from villages and complexes wishing to cultivate domestic wheat from next month and promote contract cultivation.

Wando=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Kyungpil ckp6737@asiae.co.kr

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