Hampyeong-gun Visits 'Tokyo International Food Expo' for Benchmarking Agricultural Product Processing and More

Advanced Agricultural Leaders Overseas Training Group Visits Advanced Agricultural Product Distribution Facilities

Exploring Excellent Cases of Military Administration and Agricultural Development... Strengthening Local Farmers' Capabilities

Hampyeong County visited FOODEX JAPAN, the largest food and beverage exhibition in Asia and one of the world's top three, to explore best practices for regional agricultural development.

According to the county on the 15th, the 2023 Overseas Training for Leading Farmers was held from the 8th to the 11th for 3 nights and 4 days in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan.

The visit was attended by 114 people in two teams, including Lee Sang-ik, the mayor of Hampyeong County, accompanying officials, and members of agricultural organizations.

The program was promoted to acquire advanced agricultural technology, cultivate an international perspective, and benchmark excellent cases that can be applied to county administration and agricultural development.

In particular, the Hampyeong County Overseas Training for Leading Farmers, which has been held annually since 2006 to foster young farmers and strengthen farmers' capabilities, was resumed this year after being suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.

The Tokyo International Food Exhibition they visited is Asia's largest (and one of the world's top three) food and beverage exhibitions, held annually since 1976.

This year marked the 48th exhibition, which is highly regarded as a business venue for exhibitors and visitors. It contributes to the development of the food and related industries by providing the latest information related to food, consumer tendencies, and trends.

The training group examined processed foods, processing methods, information, and technologies using agricultural products produced worldwide at this exhibition. They also took time to explore types and methods of processed products applicable to the agricultural products they produce, as well as processing plans for products with no commercial value.

The Agricultural Technology Center team visited JA Mahoroba Kitchen (Nara Prefecture), Azuka Yume Direct Sales Store, Michinoeki Aisailand, agricultural machinery exhibition halls, and large local food sales centers to study ways to revitalize direct transaction stores operated proactively by local residents, processing methods for local specialties, and development plans for stay-type tourism linked with local specialty industries.

The Agricultural Policy Office team visited the food exhibition, Local Food Direct Sales Store Hakone Toge (Kanagawa Prefecture), Enomoto Horticulture Store, Akikawa Farmers Center (Tokyo), JA Atsugi Agricultural Products Direct Sales Store (Kanagawa Prefecture), and Chiba Mirai Agricultural Products Direct Sales Store (Chiba Prefecture).

They examined top-quality tomato products for gifts, operation of ultra-small local food direct sales stores in small cities, mobile direct sales vehicles supporting shopping for the elderly, and the development and operation of logo marks for agricultural product direct sales stores, among other things, to explore ways to link with the regional food industry in the future.

Mayor Lee Sang-ik said, “This overseas training helped us directly observe various processed foods using agricultural products and acquire the latest information and technologies. We plan to continuously promote various education programs and benchmarking of excellent cases to make Hampyeong a prosperous place for its residents.”