"Coexisting with Farmers" KT&G Conducts Leaf Tobacco Transplant Volunteer Activity

Published 20 Apr.2022 09:28(KST)

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] KT&G announced on the 20th that it conducted a volunteer activity for transplanting tobacco leaves on the 19th in Jecheon, Chungbuk, to help tobacco leaf farms struggling with labor shortages.

Employees from KT&G's Raw Materials Headquarters and Gimcheon Factory who participated in the volunteer activity visited a tobacco leaf farm located in Bongyang-eup, Jecheon-si, Chungbuk, where they transported seedlings and transplanted them on approximately 15,000㎡ (4,500 pyeong) of farmland.

Due to the cultivation characteristics of tobacco leaves, seeds are not sown directly in the field; instead, seedlings are grown in a nursery facility and then transplanted. This is a crucial process that determines the yield of the year. Since 2009, KT&G has been conducting volunteer activities for 14 years to assist farms facing difficulties in securing labor and to share know-how for producing high-quality tobacco leaves.

In addition to transplanting tobacco leaves, KT&G also helps with the labor-intensive summer harvest work, fostering year-round coexistence with farmers.

Lee Jung-hoon, head of KT&G Gimcheon Factory, stated, “KT&G has been striving to alleviate difficulties by conducting annual volunteer activities for tobacco leaf transplanting and harvesting,” and added, “We will continue to work towards coexistence with farms through various activities.”