[Jangseong=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jo Hangyu] Jangseong-gun, Jeollanam-do is expected to emerge as a new hub for the cultivation of the subtropical crop ‘lemon’.
The county announced on the 23rd that it was recently selected as the final winner in the Jeollanam-do ‘2022 New Income Horticulture Specialized Complex Development Project’ contest, with a project budget of 2.9 billion KRW.
The New Income Horticulture Specialized Complex Development Project is aimed at fostering high-income facility horticultural crops and supports areas where a single crop can be cultivated in complexes of 3 hectares or more.
Having successfully attracted the National Subtropical Crop Demonstration Center in 2020, the county is emerging as a mecca for subtropical crop cultivation. Since starting a subtropical crop pilot project in 2017, it has recently expanded to 60 farms covering 16 hectares.
Subtropical crops adapted to climate change are highly anticipated to enhance the future competitiveness of agriculture.
However, from the farmers’ perspective, there are disadvantages such as high initial investment and heating costs, which create high entry barriers.
In response, the county designated lemon, which incurs relatively low initial costs compared to other subtropical crops, as the subtropical fruit tree complex crop and achieved the success of being selected in the contest.
Unlike imported lemons, domestically produced lemons are safe as they are not treated with preservatives or wax.
Additionally, there is high market demand from neighboring countries such as Japan and Taiwan, allowing it to develop into a large-scale export-specialized complex.
Through this project, the county plans to install subtropical-dedicated facility greenhouses and insulation facilities necessary for establishing the lemon specialized complex by next year.
A county official said, “Lemons are widely used in various foods and are also good for preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases,” adding, “It is a perfect crop for our county, which is currently constructing the National Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Center.”
Meanwhile, the county plans to explore ways to maximize marketing effects by combining its own city brand ‘Yellow City’ with lemons.
Jangseong=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jo Hangyu chg6001@asiae.co.kr
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