Yoon Byung-tae, Mayor of Naju, Visits Pear Farms Affected by Cold Damage... Listens to Difficulties

Naju City in Jeollanam-do is preparing measures to support pear farmers affected by abnormal low temperatures in April.

According to the city on the 2nd, Mayor Yoon Byung-tae visited pear farms in Geumcheon-myeon and Wanggok-myeon on the 30th of last month to inspect the damage situation and difficulties faced by farmers, and to discuss support plans for damage recovery.

Naju Mayor Yoon Byung-tae is inspecting the cold damage site at a pear farm.
[Photo by Naju City]

The cause of the cold damage was an abnormal low-temperature phenomenon on April 8-9, with minimum temperatures dropping to minus 2.3℃, following an early flowering of fruit trees due to unusually high temperatures in March.

In particular, poor fruit set due to low temperatures was mainly observed in orchards that underwent artificial pollination after April 4, and damage is expected to be more widespread in lowlands, areas near rivers, and orchards with poor ventilation.

Generally, for normal fertilization to occur after artificial pollination, 48 to 72 hours must pass at room temperatures between 15 and 25℃.

A farmer said, “There has never been such severe cold damage as this year. At this rate, we may have no choice but to give up this year’s farming,” and appealed, “We hope support measures will be prepared based on a damage survey.”

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae said, “Seeing pear trees without fruit just before thinning season, the cold damage is more serious than expected,” and added, “We will conduct an accurate survey and assessment of the damage scale across all orchards and ensure prompt support through continuous discussions with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Pear Growers Association.”

The city plans to finalize the damage recovery plan by the 12th, based on a detailed survey of cold damage to farms that began on the 21st of last month, and submit it to Jeollanam-do.

On the 1st, Kwon Jae-han, Director of Agricultural Innovation Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, visited pear farms in Geumcheon-myeon to inspect the cold damage.

The city intends to actively propose to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs measures such as “support for rising management costs including agricultural materials,” “increasing subsidy rates for disaster prevention facilities,” “realistic insurance payouts for crop disaster insurance,” and “support for damage prevention facilities.”

Naju = Kim Yuk-bong, Honam Reporting Headquarters, Asia Economy baekok@asiae.co.kr

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