"Potatoes Grown by Brothers Become Potato Chips"... Nongshim, Fostering Young Farmers

Potato Cultivation Training as Part of the Together Youth Farmers Program

Nongshim announced on the 22nd that it invited 10 young farmers and 10 mentors to its Asan factory for a tour of the potato snack production site and potato cultivation training, and provided a total of 30 million KRW in farming support funds.

The event held the previous day was part of Nongshim's 'Together with Young Farmers' program, a social contribution project launched in 2021 as the first in the domestic food industry to help young returnees settle and support their farming activities. The amount of potatoes purchased through the 30 young farmers nurtured by Nongshim over the past three years has reached a total of 685 tons.

In particular, among the 10 young farmers selected for this program, now in its fourth year, An Cheon-gi (31 years old, Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do) and An Min-gi (23 years old) are brothers who are following in the footsteps of their father An Byung-wook, who has been farming potatoes for 40 years, by taking on potato farming themselves.

Nongshim conducted a tour and training session at the potato snack production site for young farmers and mentors as part of the "Together with Young Farmers" program at the Asan factory on the 21st.
Among the 10 young farmers selected this year, Cheon-gi An (31 years old, Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do) and Min-gi An (23 years old) are brothers who will take on potato farming, following in the footsteps of their father, Byung-wook An, who has been farming potatoes for 40 years. From left in the photo: older brother Cheon-gi An, father Byung-wook An, younger brother Min-gi An.

The older brother, An Cheon-gi, said, “Although I helped my father with farming when I was young, I was anxious whether the potatoes I grew with my own hands would grow well, but thanks to Nongshim’s systematic support, my worries have lessened. After touring the production site today, I felt a sense of responsibility as I am in charge of the first stage of Nongshim’s potato snack production, and I will do my best to harvest high-quality potatoes in the field.”

The younger brother, An Min-gi, said, “My father is also an expert who has farmed potatoes for 40 years, but thanks to Nongshim’s latest training program, the cultivation skills of the three of us have improved even more. I feel reassured that I can farm systematically with my brother through Nongshim’s Together with Young Farmers program.”

The 10 young farmers, including the two brothers, have been receiving education on potato cultivation such as sowing, growing, harvesting, and sorting, as well as practical know-how from actual cultivation sites since March. Nongshim plans to purchase the potatoes harvested by these young farmers around July and use them for potato snack production.

A Nongshim official said, “We will continue to contribute to revitalizing domestic potato farms through various support measures, believing that the competitiveness of young farmers is directly linked to Nongshim’s quality competitiveness. We will maintain a virtuous cycle by producing products with the excellent quality raw materials supplied and providing them to consumers.”