Geochang-gun, Operation of the 5th Nongsaecheong (農思聽) in the 8th Elected Term

Communication with NongHyup Cooperative Heads to Address Local Agricultural Issues

Geochang-gun, Gyeongnam Province, announced on the 28th that it held the 5th Nongsa-cheong (Agricultural Listening Session) to hear the voices from the agricultural field, with the participation of Gu In-mo, the head of Geochang-gun, the head of NH Nonghyup Bank Geochang Branch, and nine local agricultural cooperative heads at the Agricultural Technology Center meeting room.

The county is an autonomous district centered on agriculture, where residents earn their main income through agriculture and livestock industries. The purpose of operating Nongsa-cheong (農思聽) is to listen to the voices and thoughts of farmers regarding agriculture, livestock, and rural realities to resolve difficulties and to jointly consider the future development of local agriculture.

Group photo of the 5th Nongsa-cheong Operation under the 8th Geochang County Civil Election Administration.

Since the first Nongsa-cheong session was held on October 25 last year targeting local livestock farmers, it has been operated once or twice a month, and this marks the 5th session.

Moving away from routine and formal meetings, the sessions are conducted in a format where the county head directly listens to and responds to practical and field-oriented suggestions and development proposals from farmers.

In particular, several projects discussed during the previous four sessions, such as the proposal for a farm work agency project, have been reflected in the 2024 Geochang-gun main budget and project plans, receiving great support from residents engaged in agriculture and livestock and related organizations. The county administration has been praised for viewing and considering issues from the farmers’ perspective, resulting in many good proposals and solutions.

In this Nongsa-cheong session, time was spent communicating with cooperative heads about current issues in local agriculture. It became a forum to discuss the positions of cooperatives representing farmers and county policies on a wider range of topics than ever before, including food crops, horticulture, fruit trees, livestock, and foreign seasonal workers.

Additionally, the Agricultural Technology Center reported on the current status and plans for the joint sorting and production of Geochang apples and the activation plan for the base APC (Agricultural Products Container), followed by a discussion on related issues and practical operation methods. It was agreed to work together through future large-scale public forums to establish the Geochang apple brand.

Gu, the county head, said, “Recently, adverse weather such as heavy rainfall has caused difficulties for facility horticulture farms. Nongsa-cheong was started to understand the hearts of our residents regarding all aspects, from the hardships farmers face due to climate change to the environment, surrounding infrastructure, and agricultural and livestock techniques experienced firsthand by those engaged in agriculture and livestock.”

He added, “I hope that the cooperative heads, who have a deeper understanding of the agricultural field than anyone else, will participate in solving local agricultural issues and regional development.”

Lee Tae-yong, head of NH Nonghyup Bank Geochang Branch, expressed gratitude for the quick budget allocation and administrative processing in response to farmers’ suggestions and proposals in Geochang-gun, and said, “Nonghyup will also do its best to strengthen cooperation with the administration to enhance the competitiveness of our local agriculture.”