Yeongyang County Successfully Holds "Regional Development Forum for Major Transformation in Chili Farming"

Former Minister of Agriculture Lee Dongphil Chairs Panel... Top National Experts Participate

Need for Smart Farm Introduction and Marketing Improvement in Labor-Intensive Chili Industry Raised

Yeongyang County in North Gyeongsang Province successfully held a regional development forum on the theme of "Major Transformation in Chili Pepper Farming" at the Yeongyang County Culture and Sports Center on the 26th.

Forum on Regional Development in Yeongyang County.

This forum, aimed at the major transformation of the Yeongyang chili pepper industry, addressed various current issues and discussed measures for improvement, receiving a great response from participants.

During the keynote presentation, Professor Lee Sangho of the Department of Food Economics and Culinary Studies at Yeungnam University spoke on "Smart Farms and Innovation by Young Farmers," highlighting the labor shortage and climate crisis in the Yeongyang area and emphasizing the need to introduce "chili pepper cultivation methods utilizing smart farms."

In the second presentation, Kwak Daehoon, CEO of Donga Ad, discussed "Marketing Strategies and Implementation Plans for the Yeongyang Chili Pepper Industry," mentioning the need to analyze the main consumer base for Yeongyang chili peppers, improve packaging methods, enhance both online and offline marketing, and address overall issues with current festivals.

Notably, according to preliminary data collected by CEO Kwak Daehoon, the average daily search volume for "Yeongyang chili pepper" on major portal sites is around 600, indicating insufficient formation of related search terms. He also pointed out the lack of evidence to prove the excellence of Yeongyang chili peppers, the monotonous design of product packaging sold by the Yeongyang Chili Pepper Distribution Corporation, limitations of the event name "Yeongyang Chili Pepper HOT Festival" held in Seoul, and the need to hold more local festivals.

During the main event, the discussion session, former Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Lee Dongpil, Kwon Taehun from the Smart Agriculture Policy Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and six other experts participated in a heated debate.

Former Minister Lee stated, "As Chinese chili pepper agriculture is rapidly growing and encroaching on the domestic market, it is essential to differentiate and persuade consumers who tend to choose low-priced chili peppers by promoting the unique values of domestic, low-carbon Yeongyang chili peppers. Chili pepper farming is a labor-intensive industry, and in the Yeongyang region, due to dispersed plots, small-scale farming, lack of production infrastructure, and aging farmers, there is a need to transition to smart agriculture and foster the next generation of farmers."

During the Q&A session, Oh, a Subi chili pepper grower, said, "Support for facility greenhouses is only available for farms cultivating at least 500 pyeong, but since many farms in Yeongyang County are small-scale, government budget support is urgently needed to help them achieve higher income."

Based on the results of this forum, Yeongyang County plans to recognize the overall issues of the local chili pepper industry and establish long-term improvement measures, rather than treating this as a one-time event, in order to reform the structure of chili pepper agriculture.

County Governor Oh Dochang stated, "Yeongyang County has long been deliberating internally on how to improve the chili pepper industry, but this forum was especially meaningful as it allowed us to examine our limitations and alternatives from the perspective of external experts. I sincerely thank former Minister Lee Dongpil and everyone else who has shown interest in the major transformation of the Yeongyang chili pepper industry. Based on the alternatives discussed, Yeongyang County will implement new policies, such as the open-field smart farm project for chili peppers."

With the launch of the 8th popularly elected administration, Yeongyang County has been making various efforts to overcome the crisis in the chili pepper industry, including: establishing a smart open-field chili pepper farming base; reorganizing the Hwamae and Ogi district agricultural water use systems; designating special zones and creating specialized complexes for leafy vegetables; expanding smart farms for vegetables; and introducing foreign seasonal workers.