Haenam-gun Achieves Results in Promoting Subtropical Crops to Combat Climate Change

First Harvest of 'Haenamsan Banana'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] Bananas grown in Haenam, Jeollanam-do have been harvested for the first time.

On the 13th, Haenam-gun announced that it held the Ttangkkeut Banana Harvest Festival at the farm of Shin Yong-gyun in Waryong Village, Bukpyeong-myeon.

Shin Yong-gyun's farm planted about 470 banana trees on 0.2 hectares last year and started the first harvest this month after one year.

At the event, Haenam County Governor Myeong Hyeon-gwan, members of the Haenam County Council, officials from the Jeonnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services, and Jeonnam Nonghyup Headquarters attended to review the achievements of the Haenam subtropical cultivation complex and held a banana seminar comparing the characteristics of domestic and foreign varieties.

In addition, experiential events such as banana taste evaluation and banana canap? making for children were held.

This year, Haenam plans to harvest 12 tons of bananas from two farms, including Shin Yong-gyun's, on 0.4 hectares.

The county plans to expand the high-side solid disaster-resistant greenhouse for banana cultivation to 1 hectare and increase annual production to 25 tons.

Bananas can be harvested from one year after planting, and if growth is good, they are usually harvested about three times in two years.

Domestic bananas are picked after fully ripening on the tree, so they have excellent taste and aroma, and are cultivated using eco-friendly farming methods, making them much more preferred by consumers compared to imported bananas that undergo sterilization during quarantine.

Although bananas account for more than 50% of all imported fruits, the share of domestic bananas is only 0.3%, and efforts to stabilize high-quality banana production and regional branding are expected to accelerate.

The county is establishing cultivation management manuals to prevent banana soft rot through 8-meter-high high-side solid greenhouses, and is actively working to secure sales channels such as year-round supply systems in cooperation with Jeonnam Nonghyup and eco-friendly school meals.

In particular, the harvest of Haenam bananas is the greatest achievement of Haenam's regional specialized crop development project, which has built a production base for subtropical crops in response to climate change, proving the possibility of banana cultivation inland and attracting great attention.

Haenam-gun is actively promoting the cultivation of new income crops in response to climate change, conducting demonstration cultivation of subtropical crops in the ICT advanced greenhouse within the Agricultural Technology Center, and through pilot projects, distributing various subtropical fruits such as passion fruit, cherry, apple mango, and blackcurrant, as well as subtropical vegetables like bitter melon, to farms, successfully establishing them as new income sources.

The cultivation area of subtropical crops in Haenam-gun is the largest in Jeonnam, with 23 hectares of figs and 125 hectares including kiwifruit, buddleja, and bitter melon.

Governor Myeong Hyeon-gwan said, "We believe that subtropical crops will become competitive crops in the future due to climate change and changes in consumer preferences," adding, "We will develop various crops to nurture new income crops for farmers and establish Haenam as a mecca for agricultural research in response to climate change in Korea."