Goheung-gun Selected for New Income Horticulture Specialized Complex Project Competition

Published 22 May.2023 14:45(KST)

3 Billion Invested to Create a 3ha Lettuce Cultivation Complex with Chungha

Goheung-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Gong Young-min) announced on the 22nd that it has been finally selected for the ‘2023 New Income Horticulture Specialized Complex Creation Project,’ a public contest project hosted by Jeollanam-do.

The New Income Horticulture Specialized Complex Creation Project is a project in which Jeollanam-do selects one to two sites annually to establish a production base and cultivate new income crops in response to climate change, cluster high-income facility horticulture items, and expand the cultivation of functional vegetables with high industrial demand by building a foundation for smart farm introduction such as smart greenhouses and environmental management systems.

[Photo by Goheung-gun]

Recognizing the necessity of the New Income Horticulture Specialized Complex, Goheung-gun discovered the Cheongharang lettuce variety, which contains twice the amount of lactucin, an anti-stress component, compared to regular lettuce, and is recognized as a health-functional item that induces nerve calming effects and deep sleep. Through meticulous preparation including suitability review of the target site and consultation with specialized service agencies, the county achieved the great success of being selected for this contest project.

Accordingly, starting this year, the county plans to invest a total project cost of 3 billion KRW to build and renovate facility houses to create a 3-hectare specialized complex for the functional vegetable Cheongharang lettuce.

A county official stated, “We will supply raw materials through distribution channels linked with the Goheung-gun Rural New Vitality Plus Project, and plan to develop functional foods utilizing the high lactucin content, a sleep-inducing substance, to foster it as a new income crop that will become a new source of income for farmers.”