Yeonggwang-gun Provides 'Production Incentives' to Eco-Friendly Horticultural Farms

Yeonggwang-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Kang Jong-man) announced on the 24th that it will invest 105 million won of its own budget this year to provide production incentives to eco-friendly horticultural farms.

Yeonggwang Office Building Exterior
[Photo by Yeonggwang-gun]

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This project was promoted to secure a certification base for eco-friendly horticultural crops, mainly fruit trees and vegetables, which are relatively difficult to obtain eco-friendly certification, and to diversify the items.

The support target is farmers who reside in the county and produce eco-friendly horticultural crops on eco-friendly certified farmland.

Fruit trees and vegetable crops grown in facility greenhouses and open fields are eligible, while rice, food/feed crops, special crops, and forest products are excluded from support.

This project provides support classified by crop and certification type (organic/pesticide-free), with support rates per hectare as follows: ▲ for organic certification, 900,000 won for fruit trees and 800,000 won for vegetables ▲ for pesticide-free certification, 600,000 won for fruit trees and 500,000 won for vegetables.

The application deadline is until the 4th of next month, and applications are accepted at the town and township offices where the farmland is located.

The county is promoting this project with the goal of "securing an eco-friendly fruit and vegetable certification base and diversifying items" in the eco-friendly agriculture sector this year.

Governor Kang Jong-man said, "Compared to rice, horticultural crops require much greater effort for eco-friendly certification, and despite unstable income due to reduced yields, I hope this incentive will be of some help to horticultural farmers who strive to practice eco-friendliness."

He added, "In the future, we will actively promote various policies such as establishing eco-friendly horticultural facility infrastructure, strengthening distribution, and fostering eco-friendly young farmers."

Meanwhile, the county is promoting eco-friendly agriculture centered on organic farming, with 1,404 hectares of organic certification accounting for 85% of the 1,645 hectares of eco-friendly certified area.

To preserve the agricultural ecosystem and provide safe food to consumers, the county plans to intensively support the eco-friendly sector and establish a regional food cycle system by expanding supply to local school meals and Seoul public meals.

Yeonggwang = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jeonseong baekok@asiae.co.kr

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