Hampyeong-gun Holds '1st Seed Day' Ceremony... First Designation Among Nationwide Local Governments

Government to Invest 2 Trillion Won by 2027 to Foster Seed Industry

Hampyeong-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Lee Sang-ik), widely known for its Chrysanthemum Festival, has declared August 3rd as 'Hampyeong-gun Seed Day' every year and held the first-ever commemorative ceremony among local governments nationwide on the 2nd.

According to the county, the ceremony was held successfully in the large conference room of the county office, attended by about 200 people including National Assembly member Lee Gae-ho, Hampyeong-gun Council Chairman and members Lee Nam-o, provincial council members, the head of the Advanced Equipment and Seed Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the director of the Jeonnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services, agricultural organizations, and local residents.

On the 2nd, the '1st Hampyeong-gun Seed Day Ceremony'.
[Photo by Hampyeong-gun]

This event is significant as the seed industry, as a green bio-industry, prepares for food security against climate change and serves as an opportunity to strengthen the competitiveness of the local seed industry.

Last year on November 17th, the county became the first local government nationwide to enact and promulgate an ordinance designating August 3rd as 'Seed Day' annually. The designated date marks the first registration date of the chrysanthemum variety in Hampyeong-gun.

Since 2010, the county has independently bred chrysanthemum varieties and registered 22 new varieties including 'Nabibyeonyeong.' They actively develop differentiated varieties from other local governments and showcase them annually at the Chrysanthemum Festival and other events.

By cultivating their own varieties, they resolved royalty issues and gained an advantage in the competitiveness of the local government seed industry. They achieved results in developing new varieties such as Hyeonaeguk, Hwadanguk, and Bunjaeguk, which bloom 7 to 10 days earlier than other regions to align with the Chrysanthemum Festival (Gukhyangdaejeon).

Meanwhile, the seed industry is a crucial national key industry that goes beyond simply addressing food, clothing, and shelter needs, enabling convergence with food, pharmaceuticals, and material industries. Leading seed powerhouse countries already support securing genetic resources and preempting intellectual property rights at the national level.

New chrysanthemum varieties to be showcased at this year's Hampyeong Chrysanthemum Festival. From the left, Nabi Yeonhong, Nabi Seonyu.
Photo by Kim Geonwan yacht@

Last year, the government announced the '3rd Comprehensive Plan for Seed Industry Development.' Over five years until 2027, a budget of 1.941 trillion KRW will be invested. The plan aims to foster the seed industry through technological innovation and achieve export revenue of 120 million USD.

This plan will proceed centered on 'five major strategies' focused on technological innovation: ▲ commercialization of new breeding technologies such as digital breeding ▲ concentration on developing competitive core seeds ▲ strengthening the establishment of three core infrastructures ▲ policy support tailored to corporate growth and development ▲ improvement of food seed supply and fostering of seedling industry.

Governor Lee Sang-ik said, "The seed industry is a very important national key industry," and added, "We will discover various projects at the local government level to secure genetic resources and preempt intellectual property rights by strengthening competitiveness."

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