Haenam-gun's Leap to Become a Hub City for 'Agricultural Climate Change Response'

The Nation's Largest Haenam-gun Climate Change Response Agricultural Research Complex Established

[Haenam＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] On the 31st, Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that it will be developed as a hub for climate change response in the agricultural sector, including creating the nation's largest climate change response agricultural research complex in line with the establishment of the National Agricultural Food Climate Change Response Center.

The National Agricultural Food Climate Change Response Center, located in the Samsan-myeon area of Haenam-gun, is a large-scale national project with a total investment of 407.9 billion KRW, and will serve as the control tower for climate change response in South Korea's agricultural sector.

Currently, a preliminary feasibility study is underway by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. After passing the feasibility study in September this year, construction will be completed by 2025 and operations will begin. Haenam-gun plans to actively respond to the preliminary feasibility study in collaboration with Jeollanam-do and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure smooth project progress.

In particular, centered on the Agricultural Food Climate Change Response Center, the Jeollanam-do Regional Specialized Fruit Support Center (Fruit Research Institute) and Haenam-gun Climate Change Response Agricultural Research Complex will be established.

The Jeollanam-do Fruit Research Institute, which has operated three test sites in Haenam, Wando, and Naju, will be integrated and relocated to Haenam-gun to improve research efficiency and upgrade outdated research facilities. Currently, a management plan change service is underway, and the relocation is expected to be completed by 2024.

The nation's largest climate change response agricultural research complex will include a sweet potato research center, scientific farming demonstration test fields, and rental farms for young farmers. This year, through basic design services for the entire research complex, the zones and locations for each project will be finalized, laying the foundation for the smooth implementation of individual projects.

Once the Agricultural Food Climate Change Response Center, Jeollanam-do Regional Specialized Fruit Support Center, and Haenam-gun Agricultural Research Complex are clustered and fully operational, Haenam-gun is expected to establish itself as a key base for climate change response in South Korea's agricultural sector.

Alongside this, the county is actively promoting low-carbon agricultural technology dissemination to practice climate change response and carbon neutrality in actual agricultural fields.

Haenam plans to strengthen sustainable ESG agriculture through systematic cultivation and dissemination of various income-promising crops responding to climate change, development of adaptation capabilities for existing crops, and activation of policy and technology dissemination.

Myeong Hyun-gwan, the mayor of Haenam-gun, stated, "As climate change response and carbon neutrality have emerged as national tasks, we expect to greatly enhance the agricultural sector's response capacity through the early establishment of the Agricultural Food Climate Change Response Center and agricultural research complexes." He added, "We will make every effort to promote related projects so that Haenam, the starting point of the Korean Peninsula and the starting point of climate change, can lead South Korea's climate change response."

Haenam=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun kh0424@asiae.co.kr