Gumi-si Cultivates 500 Young Farmers... Opening a New Era of Agricultural Innovation

Drone Pest Control Contributes to Labor Reduction and Job Creation

Strengthening Competitiveness through Self-Reliance Foundation Building and Agricultural Settlement Technology Dissemination

Gumi City in Gyeongbuk is actively promoting policies to nurture young farmers who will lead future agriculture by systematically fostering young agricultural talents and injecting new vitality into the agriculture and rural sectors.

Education for Leading Farmers in Fostering Young Agriculturalists.

Currently, there are 83 young successor farmers in Gumi City, which is far from sufficient to guarantee the region’s future. To address this issue, the city has designated the cultivation of young farmers as a priority project for 2024 and plans to nurture 500 influential young farmers by 2030 through various projects and educational programs.

To this end, the city is fostering a drone pest control team for young farmers under the ‘Young Farmers Drone Utilization Pest Control Team Operation’ project (1 location, 100 million KRW). This team will consist of five or more young farmers aged 39 or younger who will operate drones to perform various farming tasks such as seed sowing, fertilizer and pollen spraying, and work on rice paddies and fields. The city will support the establishment of agricultural cooperatives or agricultural corporations for farming agency services and aim to create jobs for rural youth by providing stable farming support to elderly farmers.

Additionally, the city will implement the ‘Young Farmers Self-Reliance Foundation Building Project’ (1 location, 100 million KRW) targeting young farmers who have settled in farming. This project is a self-directed public contest program that allows young farmers to plan and carry out projects they desire in areas such as agricultural and livestock production, processing, distribution, and rural tourism experiences.

The ‘Young Farmers Farming Intern Program,’ recruiting five teams, supports young people aspiring to start farming by providing practical training at leading farms. During the six-month training period, trainees receive up to 1 million KRW per month as education and training expenses, while leading farms receive up to 500,000 KRW per month as teaching allowances.

This program aims to minimize risks due to inexperienced early farming and to help young farmers acquire practical farming skills, management techniques, and startup methods for stable settlement in agriculture.

Through the ‘Young Farmers Farming Settlement Technology Dissemination’ project (2 locations, 50 million KRW), the city supports young farmers with facilities and equipment necessary for settlement in three key areas: digital agriculture (smart farms), convergence farming (processing, distribution, tourism), and production infrastructure. This will nurture next-generation farming leaders with a solid foundation. Additionally, ‘Young Farmers Item-Specific Consulting’ for sixth industry items such as grapes will provide in-depth consulting combining theory and field visits.

The Gumi Agricultural Technology Center is also dedicated to fostering the Gumi City 4-H Federation, composed of young farmers, through the ‘Young Farmers 4-H Activity Support Project’ and the ‘Farming 4-H Work Equipment Support Project.’

The center aims to enhance young farmers’ willingness to settle in rural areas by enabling them to gain broad agricultural management experience and skills through excellent agricultural product production activities and visits to leading farms. It also plans to support elderly farmers by distributing labor-saving equipment to cultivate future rural leaders.

Mayor Kim Jang-ho stated, “I hope these various projects will serve as a stepping stone for young and talented individuals to enter the agricultural field, and we will strive to nurture competitive young farmers who will guarantee the future of Gumi City’s agriculture.”

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