‘Becoming Wealthy through Cheongsong Agriculture’... Cheongsong-gun Announces This Year’s Agricultural Policy Direction

Cheongsong-gun, Gyeongbuk Province, has set "Wealthy Cheongsong Agriculture" as its agricultural policy direction for 2025 and plans to invest 115.5 billion KRW, equivalent to 23% of the county's budget, in the agriculture and forestry sector to fully commit to building a newly blossoming future rural community.

Yoon Kyung-hee, Cheongsong County Governor, announcing the 2025 agricultural policy direction for "Wealthy Cheongsong Agriculture." Provided by Cheongsong County

To this end, the county has established three major agricultural policy strategies: ▲Reducing production costs agricultural policy ▲Fostering sustainable future agriculture ▲Strengthening the competitiveness of the Cheongsong apple brand. Through these strategies, it is expected to enhance the agricultural competitiveness of Cheongsong-gun and significantly contribute to revitalizing the rural economy.

◆Three Key Strategies

▲First, in promoting the "Reducing Production Costs Agricultural Policy," 9.1 billion KRW will be allocated to the FTA Fund for the modernization of high-quality fruit facilities to advance the fruit production base, which is Cheongsong-gun’s main source of income. Additionally, 2.9 billion KRW will be invested in saplings for establishing future-type orchards to innovate cultivation systems in response to rising production costs, 800 million KRW for creating production bases in fruit-specialized complexes for high-quality fruit production, and 3 billion KRW to support labor-saving and quality improvement through fruit farming machinery, reducing fruit production costs, and high-quality fruit production materials.

Moreover, by producing and distributing leafless Cheongsong apples, unnecessary farming steps will be reduced, cutting production costs and labor while securing production competitiveness.

Furthermore, 13.2 billion KRW will be secured for projects such as the public interest direct payment system to stabilize farmers' income, 4 billion KRW for the Gyeongbuk Province farmers’ allowance, 35.8 billion KRW for crop disaster insurance premiums, and 1.3 billion KRW for agricultural machinery comprehensive insurance and farmers’ safety disaster insurance premiums to support stable farming operations and the foundation of agricultural production activities.

▲Second, to foster "Sustainable Future Agriculture," 5.8 billion KRW will be provided to support organic agricultural materials, eco-friendly soil fertility improvement, and the production of high-quality food crops to enhance agriculture’s environmental conservation functions and continuously increase the production competitiveness of food crops.

44 billion KRW will be invested in installing micro-sprinkler devices in orchards to ensure stable agricultural production and create a sustainable farming environment in response to climate change. Additionally, 2 billion KRW will be allocated for high-quality chili pepper production, 800 million KRW for establishing production bases for vegetables and specialty crops, and 1.2 billion KRW for distributing superior Cheongsong chili seedlings to diversify farm income crops beyond apples and prepare for the future agricultural market.

Furthermore, 3 billion KRW will be invested in fostering smart agriculture, and 800 million KRW in nurturing young farmers to respond to future environmental changes, discover promising young agricultural talents, and cultivate them into elite agricultural personnel, thereby promoting rural vitality and achieving sustainable agricultural and rural development.

▲Lastly, to "Strengthen the Competitiveness of the Cheongsong Apple Brand," the county plans to secure agricultural competitiveness through activating direct transactions, diversifying marketing strategies for local agricultural specialties, and transforming distribution systems. It will also establish an export base for Cheongsong apples by supporting the enhancement of export agricultural food safety and foster the agricultural food processing industry to promote consumption and increase the added value of local agricultural products.

Alongside this, the distribution of stemless Cheongsong apples will lead innovation in the domestic apple market’s distribution methods. Particularly, by introducing an online auction system at the Cheongsong-gun agricultural product wholesale market, distribution costs will be reduced, allowing producers to receive fair prices and consumers to purchase fresh agricultural products at affordable prices, creating innovation.

Additionally, 2.4 billion KRW will be provided for agricultural product distribution facility support, 1.8 billion KRW for supporting integrated marketing organizations to strengthen distribution functions, and 400 million KRW for operating the Cheongsong-gun agricultural product distribution center and supporting shipping farmers.

Governor Yoon Kyung-hee stated, "We will continue to wisely cope with climate change and the shortage of agricultural labor and create a sustainable farming environment," adding, "We will do our best to realize 'Wealthy Cheongsong Agriculture.'"

Future-Oriented Multi-Tree Orchard Development.

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