Yeongam-gun, Cultivating 500 Farmers with 100 Million and 1,000 Young Agriculturalists

Yeongam-gun, Jeollanam-do is set to nurture 500 farmers earning 100 million won and 1,000 young farmers, and expand smart farms by 100 times.

According to the county on the 23rd, on the 19th, a ‘Agricultural Policy Great Transformation Project Public Hearing’ marking the start of the 8th term agricultural policy innovation journey was successfully held at the county office with about 300 attendees.

The Agricultural Policy Great Transformation Project is a plan to overcome challenges such as decreased rice consumption and price drops, agriculture centered on primary industries, shortage of young farmers and aging agricultural population, and rural extinction, aiming to realize sustainable agriculture.

The first presentation at the public hearing was given by Han Byung-han, CEO of (Ltd.) Hanter. Based on an analysis of Yeongam-gun’s strengths and weaknesses in the ‘Yeongam-gun Agricultural, Rural, and Food Industry Development Plan,’ he presented the direction that Yeongam-gun agriculture should take.

At the Agricultural Policy Transformation Project public hearing, County Governor Woo Seung-hee is making a presentation.
[Photo by Yeongam County]

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Specifically, △ Establishing income-centered food crop production and strategic crop industrialization △ Fostering convergence agro-food industries to enhance the added value of agricultural products △ Realizing healing agriculture and rural areas by revitalizing K-Wellness cities.

County Governor Woo Seung-hee emphasized, “We will expand the number of farmers earning 100 million won from 272 to 500 by 2026, and nurture young farmers leading future agriculture from 309 to 1,000 by 2030. We will also drastically expand smart farms, the frontline base for young farmer development, by 100 times compared to the current scale, implement contract cultivation and joint shipment to increase the added value of local agricultural products, and invest double the budget in distribution, operation, and sales.”

Furthermore, he stated, “To reduce carbon emissions in the agricultural policy sector by 40% by 2030, we will operate agricultural byproduct shredding units, support eco-friendly fertilizers, and supply methane-reducing feed.”

Following the project presentation, a panel discussion was held with experts from various fields, including Lee Myung-gi, senior research fellow at the Korea Rural Economic Institute; Dr. Lee So-mi from the Fruit Research Institute of the Agricultural Technology Center; Han Byung-han, CEO of (Ltd.) Hanter; Lee Maeng-jong, head of Yeongam Livestock Cooperative; and Kim Won-sik, head of Seo-Yeongam Agricultural Cooperative.

The subsequent Q&A session was conducted through two methods: a KakaoTalk open chat room and live audience questions, serving as a channel for diverse opinions from Yeongam residents.

Governor Woo Seung-hee said, “The process of Yeongam residents, Yeongam-gun, and the Yeongam County Council coming together to discuss and produce reasonable outcomes toward the common goal of a prosperous Yeongam is the true agricultural policy great transformation. We will collect various opinions from the public hearing, select core projects, form a T/F team, hold a cooperative governance agricultural policy committee and item-specific councils, and finally announce the Yeongam Agricultural Policy Great Transformation Project at the cooperative governance agricultural policy residents’ meeting in August.”

The public hearing concluded with a performance where attendees unfolded a banner with the slogan “Let’s join the Agricultural Policy Great Transformation Project.”

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