Gyeongbuk Province Shakes Up Insect Industry 'Together with Large Corporations and Universities'... Promoting Advancement

Gyeongbuk Province, Lotte Central Research Institute, Gyeongbuk National University, and Yecheon County Sign Business Agreement Among Four Institutions

Gyeongbuk Provincial Government Office.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Gui-yeol] On the 28th, Gyeongbuk Province signed a 'Business Agreement for the Advancement of the Gyeongbuk Insect Industry' with Lotte Central Research Institute, Gyeongbuk National University, and Yecheon County at the provincial government office's Sarim Room.

The signing ceremony was attended by Governor Lee Cheol-woo, Director Lee Kyung-hwon of Lotte Central Research Institute, President Hong Won-hwa of Gyeongbuk National University, Mayor Kim Hak-dong of Yecheon County, producer organizations, and farmers.

The main purpose of this agreement is to overcome the limitations of the current insect industry’s farm-centered industrial structure, where farms are solely responsible for production, processing, product development, and distribution, by innovating the insect industry structure through collaboration between specialized large corporations and universities in each field.

The province has concretized the roles and cooperation plans of each institution through continuous consultations over about nine months since November last year with Lotte Central Research Institute of the Lotte Group, the nation's top comprehensive food research institute, Gyeongbuk National University, which operates an insect-specialized department, and Yecheon County, a major hub of the insect industry.

The key contents of the agreement include ▲ cooperation for the use of insect raw materials as food ingredients ▲ cooperation for stable supply of insect raw materials and expansion of product commercialization and sales channels ▲ cooperation to establish a virtuous cycle system in research and development, production, processing, and distribution sectors of the insect industry.

Accordingly, Lotte Central Research Institute will focus on product development and distribution activation, Gyeongbuk National University will handle detailed research and development such as insect breeding and production, and Gyeongbuk Province and Yecheon County will be responsible for establishing the raw material supply base and fostering farms, each institution advancing their respective roles.

Through this, the plan is not only to accelerate the time when insect raw materials are used as general food ingredients but also to create stable income for insect farmers who are struggling to secure sales channels.

The province was selected in June this year for the ‘Insect Industry Hub Complex Construction’ public project hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and plans to establish a hub complex in the Maechang-ri area of Jibo-myeon, Yecheon, by 2024, integrating large-scale production, processing, and distribution facilities for insect raw materials worth approximately 20 billion KRW.

Governor Lee Cheol-woo said, “The insect industry is both a future food resource and a food, pharmaceutical, and material industry. Advanced countries such as those in Europe have already begun full-scale investments,” and added, “With the power of Gyeongbuk, as the province’s slogan ‘A New Korea’ suggests, Gyeongbuk will stand at the forefront of the globally spotlighted insect industry and lead the future of Korea’s agricultural industry.”

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