"Must Withstand Heavy Snowfall and Strong Winds"... Government Strengthens Disaster-Resistant Design Standards for Horticultural Greenhouses

Reinforced design standards to ensure that horticultural crop greenhouses and ginseng shading facilities can withstand heavy snowfall and strong winds will be applied to 22 regions, including Jindo, Bonghwa, Suncheon, and Yeoncheon.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on November 3 that it had revised the "Design Standards for Disaster-Resistant Horticultural and Special Crop Facilities and Registration Regulations for Disaster-Resistant Facility Specifications" on October 31 to prevent damage to horticultural and special crop facilities.

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An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs explained, "In November 2024, heavy snowfall and strong winds centered in the central region caused large-scale damage, which raised the need to strengthen facility standards for horticultural and ginseng facilities. Accordingly, we analyzed meteorological data up to 2024 and revised the design standards to enhance disaster resistance."

The disaster-resistant standards are not mandatory requirements. Instead, they are applied as eligibility criteria for various policy funds related to greenhouse installation. Support for new greenhouse construction and internal facility installation is available through the Smart Farm ICT Convergence and Expansion Project.

Since 2007, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has established and implemented disaster-resistant standards to minimize economic losses for farmers and the nation by stipulating regional disaster-resistant design standards and registration procedures for disaster-resistant facility specifications, as damage to horticultural crop greenhouses and ginseng shading facilities frequently occurs due to heavy snowfall and strong winds. As of 2023, 16 years after the system's implementation, 44% of facility vegetable plastic greenhouses (52,721 hectares) have been converted to disaster-resistant facilities.

Hong Inki, Director General for Distribution and Consumption Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated, "This revision of the disaster-resistant standards aims to strengthen proactive measures against intensifying natural disasters. We will continue to support policy projects for the installation of disaster-resistant facilities," and added, "We ask that the disaster-resistant standards be actively utilized in the field to minimize economic losses."

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