Pohang City to Lead Future Agriculture and Fisheries... Benchmarking Smart Advanced Technologies

Norwegian Smart Aquaculture Company Nils Willickson Visits to Discuss Cooperation in Salmon Industry

Denmark's Largest Indoor Farm Nordic Harvest Seeks Solutions for Future Food Industry

Mayor Lee: "Smart Agriculture and Fisheries, Proactively Fostering Industries to Address Climate and Food Crises"

As Pohang City actively responds to the climate crisis and fosters sustainable agriculture and fisheries, the city has visited Norway and Denmark?recognized as leading examples of smart innovation in the agricultural and fisheries sectors?to explore ways to implement a 'Pohang-style smart agriculture and fisheries ecosystem.'

The Pohang city delegation visiting Europe is taking a commemorative photo with representatives of the smart aquaculture company NilsWilkson located in Lørvik, Norway, on the 23rd.

Pohang Mayor Lee Kangdeok, Pohang City Council Chairman Baek Ingyu, and the Pohang delegation visited Nils Williksen, a smart aquaculture company located in Roervik, Norway, on the 23rd, accompanied by local fisheries stakeholders from Pohang.

Nils Williksen signed a memorandum of understanding with Pohang City in 2021, establishing a cooperative framework for advanced salmon aquaculture information exchange and administrative support. During this visit, the delegation listened to opinions on securing community acceptance for the smart aquaculture cluster project and discussed potential collaborations in the salmon industry.

Norway accounts for over 50% of the world's salmon aquaculture, while Korea currently relies entirely on imports of Atlantic salmon.

Notably, Korea's annual salmon imports have grown rapidly from 11,000 tons in 2009 to 77,000 tons in 2022?an increase of about sevenfold. In response, Pohang City is accelerating the fourth industrialization of the aquaculture sector, starting with the establishment of a salmon smart aquaculture cluster.

Mayor Lee Kangdeok stated, "Pohang City is pushing forward with the creation of a salmon smart aquaculture cluster?including salmon aquaculture test facilities and a large-scale support site?by 2025 to localize salmon production. We hope that by establishing practical cooperation with Nils Williksen through technology exchange and information sharing, salmon farmed in Pohang will be exported not only domestically but also globally, leading to a breakthrough in the aquaculture industry."

The delegation also visited the SinkabergHansen AS processing plant, which uses state-of-the-art automation equipment to process salmon, touring the facility and benchmarking best practices in the aquaculture industry.

On the 22nd, the Pohang delegation visited Nordic Harvest, the largest vertical farm (indoor farm) in Europe, located in Copenhagen, Denmark, to gain insights into future food production and industry trends.

Mayor Kangdeok Lee and City Council Chairman Ingyu Baek, along with the Pohang city delegation, are receiving an explanation during their visit to Nordic Harvest, Europe's largest vertical farm (indoor farm) located in Copenhagen, Denmark, on the 22nd.

Nordic Harvest is drawing attention as an alternative for future agriculture by moving away from traditional farming methods and artificially controlling plant growth conditions?such as light, temperature and humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, and nutrient solutions?allowing for 15 to 17 harvests per year regardless of season or location.

Introduced to the facilities by Nordic Harvest CTO Niehls Valdemar Jujl, the delegation concluded that smart farms could be a solution to the declining agricultural workforce, particularly attracting younger generations, and agreed to establish cooperative frameworks in related fields.

Mayor Lee Kangdeok said, "With rapid climate change, humanity is expected to face food security challenges. Pohang City will do its utmost to proactively foster smart agriculture and fisheries as future growth industries that respond to climate, food, and population crises, ensuring sustainable food security for the future."

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