Hapcheon-gun Receives Excellence Award for Local Food Index, First in Gyeongnam Military Region

Establishing a Position as a Leading Local Food Municipality

Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongnam Province, was selected as an excellent local government nationwide in the 2024 Regional Food Index evaluation conducted jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation.

Additionally, it became the first county-level local government in Gyeongnam Province to receive the Excellence Award, firmly establishing itself as a leading local government in local food policy.

Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongnam Province's first county to receive the Excellence Award for Local Food Index Group Photo.

The Regional Food Index is an indicator that comprehensively evaluates the level of policy and infrastructure development in the process of production, distribution, and consumption of agricultural products produced locally. This index serves as an important measure to assess the sustainability of regional agriculture and the virtuous cycle system of food, and it is evaluated annually through 14 indicators targeting local governments nationwide.

While the county received a Encouragement Award in last year’s evaluation, this year it achieved the Excellence Award by earning high scores in areas such as ▲establishing a formal system for regional food plan implementation ▲operating the Food Committee ▲managing the safety of local agricultural products and organizing farming households.

Building on this award, Hapcheon-gun plans to further expand local food-related infrastructure and implement various policies to increase the added value of regional agriculture. Aiming to provide healthy food to consumers and increase stable income for farmers, it will continuously strengthen a structure where producers and consumers can coexist, thereby further enhancing the sustainability of regional agriculture and the establishment of a virtuous food cycle system.

County Governor Kim Yoon-cheol stated, “This Excellence Award is a valuable achievement made possible by the residents of Hapcheon-gun and farmers, and it is especially meaningful as the first in the county-level divisions of Gyeongnam Province,” adding, “Since the Food Integrated Support Center and the Local Food Direct Market play an important role in establishing a virtuous cycle system for regional food, we will continue to make efforts going forward.”

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