Urban Agriculture Facility on Former State-Owned Land... Busan's 9 Public Institutions Open Smart Farm Branch No. 5 with Development Fund

Busan Port Authority and Others Social Economy Support Fund → Private Collaboration for Shiitake Mushroom Production

On the 24th, representatives of public institutions are touring the shiitake mushroom cultivation facility at the Busan Gamman-dong Smart Farm Branch 5, which opened on the 24th.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Public institutions in the Busan area, including Busan Port Authority (BPA), held an opening ceremony for the 5th branch of the ‘BEF Smart Farm’ on the 24th in Gamman-dong, Nam-gu, Busan.

The 5th Smart Farm was established with the Busan Social Economy Support Fund (BEF).

The Busan area institutions participating in BEF include Korea Technology Finance Corporation, Busan Urban Corporation, Busan Port Authority, Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation, Korea Southern Power, Korea Securities Depository, Korea Asset Management Corporation, Korea Housing Finance Corporation, and Korea Ocean Business Corporation.

BEF is a fund created by nine public institutions in the Busan area to support the sustainable growth of social economy enterprises, and it is entrusted and operated by the Social Enterprise Research Institute.

The ‘Smart Farm’ opening under the BEF project is an urban agriculture facility utilizing idle national land managed by Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO), representing a case of private collaboration.

The opening ceremony was attended by executives and staff from the nine participating public institutions, including KAMCO President Kwon Nam-joo. National Assembly member Park Soo-young (Busan Nam-gu Gap) and Lee Seung-won, Director of National Property Review at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, also participated to celebrate the opening.

The 5th Smart Farm utilized idle national land near a residential area in Gamman-dong. Facilities were installed by repurposing refrigerated containers on this national land, and it is planned to produce low-temperature shiitake mushrooms, a high value-added crop.

The nine public institutions in the Busan area, including BPA, are expanding production and distribution structures based on ESG innovative growth by spreading smart agriculture to the local community through BEF.

Jeon Jeong-wook, CEO of ‘Dosinongsakkun’ who is in charge of operating the 5th Smart Farm, said, “We plan to open convenience facilities within the smart farm site to nearby residents and prioritize hiring local residents as production assistants to promote coexistence.”

The nine public institutions in the Busan area plan to carry out additional smart farm projects in the second half of this year utilizing BEF’s capabilities.

Over the past five years, these institutions have jointly raised 5.17 billion KRW in funds to provide financial support, management consulting, talent development, and market access support to social economy enterprises in the Busan area.