Selected as the Best Institution for Customized Climate Change Response Projects
Gangjin-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Kang Jin-won) announced on the 20th that the Gangjin-gun Agricultural Technology Center won the Grand Prize (project fund 10 million KRW, prize money 5 million KRW) at the ‘2023 Jeollanam-do Rural Development Project Comprehensive Evaluation’ held on the 19th.
The ‘2023 Rural Development Project Comprehensive Evaluation’ is designed to evaluate and award outstanding institutions that have contributed to the development and performance improvement of rural development projects carried out throughout the year, thereby promoting the activation of rural development projects. It evaluates the overall rural development work across 15 indicators in three areas, including rural guidance innovation strategy implementation and government joint evaluation.
Gangjin-gun achieved this honor by being recognized for its high performance in promoting rural development projects to strengthen agricultural competitiveness, such as policies targeting young startup farmers and returnees to farming, field-oriented technology dissemination including agricultural machinery rental projects, creation of region-customized promising fruit tree specialized complexes, and fostering sustainable livestock farming.
In the 2023 Jeollanam-do Rural Development Project Comprehensive Evaluation, Gangjin-gun Agricultural Technology Center was selected as the Best Agricultural Technology Center. [Photo by Gangjin-gun]
In particular, the county has been focusing on discovering region-customized promising fruit trees and enhancing competitiveness in response to climate change by supporting cherry rain shelter facilities, providing dedicated greenhouses and seedlings for apple mangoes, and establishing a foundation to respond to abnormal weather, thereby promoting technology dissemination for discovering new income crops and generating high income for farmers.
Additionally, efforts to create a premium grape specialized complex led to the export of 2 tons of grapes to Thailand on October 5th. The shipment of standardized products improved the image of Gangjin grapes and increased income (24,000 KRW → 28,000 KRW per 2 kg), while stable production through disaster avoidance facilities resulted in increased production volume (2 tons/990㎡ → 2.4 tons/990㎡).
To foster strawberries as a future strategic income crop, the Agricultural Technology Center established a strawberry mother plant distribution system, introduced cutting and seedling techniques, and disseminated technologies such as ceiling ventilation and frozen storage. This contributed to increased sales of specialized strawberry seedling farms, suppressed disease incidence rates, reduced labor for winter preparation, and achieved a 0% incidence rate of frost damage during winter.
Choi Young-ah, Director of the Agricultural Technology Center, said, “This award is the result of the dedicated efforts of all staff and Gangjin-gun farmers working together to perform guidance projects to the best of their ability. We will continue to nurture creative professionals who will lead future agriculture and strive to improve the competitiveness of Gangjin agriculture and rural areas and provide better services to local farmers.”
Meanwhile, Gangjin-gun plans to open a Digital Agriculture University next year in line with the digital era to deliver future agricultural technologies and knowledge. It will also disseminate 4th Industrial Revolution technologies in various agricultural fields such as livestock and facility horticulture, sparing no effort in building an environment and support system that enables farmers to produce more smartly and efficiently.
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