Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok Inspects Damage Site of Boseong Green Tea Cold Wave

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeonnam Province, visited the green tea cultivation site in Boseong-eup affected by the cold wave to encourage the affected farmers and urged thorough damage investigation and prompt recovery support.

According to Jeonnam Province on the 2nd, Boseong cultivates 755 hectares of green tea, accounting for 34% of the national green tea cultivation area.

A cold wave occurred in January, and as of the end of February, damage has been recorded on 152 hectares, which is 20% of the cultivation area. Since reports are still being received, the scale of damage is expected to increase further.

At the green tea damage site, Governor Kim instructed, “Since green tea shows symptoms such as red leaf discoloration and delayed branch withering due to the cold wave, extend the investigation period if necessary to ensure that no eligible farmers are omitted from support.”

He added to the affected farmers, “As soon as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ recovery support plan is finalized, we will promptly provide support by injecting emergency contingency funds.”

The province plans to execute 900 million KRW in provincial funds as emergency contingency funds in March, matching the 6.3 billion KRW in national recovery funds confirmed for 2,240 hectares of cold wave damage including 1,870 hectares of cabbage and 54 hectares of chili pepper from January.

Additionally, for crops such as yuzu, garlic, and onion, which show damage symptoms later including green tea, the province plans to complete crop-specific damage investigations by April and establish recovery support plans accordingly.