'Hempeu Regulatory Free Zone' Andong-si, Research Agreement on 'Hemp Cultivation Technology'

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Jae-ho] Andong City announced on the 3rd that the Agricultural Technology Center and the Gyeongbuk Agricultural Research & Extension Services Biological Resources Research Institute signed a business agreement on the 2nd at the Andong Agricultural Technology Center to standardize hemp cultivation technology and increase farm income.

Since being designated as a regulatory free zone for industrial hemp in Gyeongbuk in July 2020, Andong City has been actively promoting projects for the development of health functional foods and pharmaceutical materials using hemp, as well as increasing the income of hemp farmers.

Andong was once famous for Andongpo, made from fiber hemp, but due to recent changes in funeral culture and the distribution of Chinese hemp fabric, the demand for hemp fabric has sharply declined, making it urgently necessary to revitalize the hemp industry through the development of new uses.

Through this agreement, the two institutions plan to contribute to farm income creation by collecting hemp genetic resources, evaluating their characteristics, developing a technology base and standard manual for producing 'jaseong seeds', and distributing them to farmers.

Jaseong (female) seeds refer to seeds that have been sex-reversed to female. Hemp plants are dioecious, meaning that when general seeds are sown, male and female plants appear in roughly equal numbers, resulting in fewer female plants. When jaseong seeds are sown, only female plants appear, increasing seed production by about 50%.

Andong Agricultural Technology Center (Director Ryu Jong-suk) said, "Through this business agreement (MOU), we will do our best in agricultural technology guidance to disseminate hemp cultivation technology optimized for Andong so that it can be recognized as a new income crop for farmers."