[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Sejong City will support local pregnant women with eco-friendly agricultural product packages starting this year.
The city announced on the 2nd that it will promote the ‘Pregnant Women Eco-friendly Agricultural Product Support Project’ from this month. The project will be implemented by composing and delivering eco-friendly agricultural products worth 480,000 KRW per pregnant woman in the form of packages.
The purpose of this project is to help healthy childbirth for pregnant women and to increase the income of local eco-friendly agricultural producers.
The packages can only be received by applicants. Applications can be made after signing up as a member on the ‘Pregnant Women Eco-friendly Agricultural Products Integrated Shopping Mall’.
The city originally planned to accept up to 2,100 pregnant women on a first-come, first-served basis, but due to increased interest in the project, the application period has been extended until October 15 to allow all pregnant women to benefit.
Considering that it takes two months from application to delivery, the service will be available until December 15.
The city will provide 80% of the total cost, 384,000 KRW, as a subsidy to the shopping mall, excluding the 20% self-payment (96,000 KRW) when applicants purchase eco-friendly agricultural products. Purchases can be made 4 times a month (16 times a year) within the range of 30,000 to 100,000 KRW per purchase.
However, pregnant women currently receiving support from the ‘Community Integrated Health Promotion Project (Nutrition Plus)’ operated by the Sejong City Health Center are excluded from the target.
The eco-friendly agricultural product supplier is ‘Y-Pam Agricultural Cooperative Corporation,’ selected through public recruitment and screening, offering about 100 items including grains, vegetables, fruits, livestock products, and processed goods.
Additionally, through a supply contract with the Eco-friendly Agriculture Association, 12 eco-friendly local food items produced in the region such as white rice, glutinous rice, strawberries, mushrooms, beef, pork, and eggs will also be supplied.
Furthermore, the city plans to form a consultative body among the administration, suppliers, and producer groups to continuously discuss expanding the items and production volume.
A city official said, “Through the Pregnant Women Eco-friendly Agricultural Product Support Project, we will ensure that safe and fresh food is supplied to pregnant women,” and added, “It is expected to contribute to farm income by securing stable sales channels for eco-friendly local food producers.”
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