Gyeongnam Nonghyup Achieves Remarkable Feat as Two Couples Win Main Saenongmin Award

Uiryeong Nonghyup couple Yoon Haeyong and Hwang Mija receive 'Order of Industrial Service Merit'
Saetongyeong Nonghyup couple Kim Sehyun and Kim Gapseon receive 'Minister of Agriculture Award'

Gyeongnam Nonghyup announced on the 14th that the couples Yoon Haeyong and Hwang Mija from Uiryeong Nonghyup, and Kim Sehyun and Kim Gapseon from Saetongyeong Nonghyup, were selected as the recipients of the 59th Saenongmin Award Grand Prize, which is selected and awarded by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation.

Eoryeong Nonghyup couple Haeyong Yoon and Mija Hwang.

Mr. and Mrs. Yoon, members of Uiryeong Nonghyup, are professional farmers with 40 years of experience cultivating field water parsley in Uiryeong. Driven by the belief that "practicing the adoption of new technologies enhances agricultural competitiveness," they have introduced and researched facility-based water parsley cultivation techniques, making significant contributions as leading farmers to the growth of water parsley as a representative agricultural product of Uiryeong.

The award-winning couple began their agricultural careers in 1984 with small-scale rice and chestnut farming. Gradually acquiring water parsley cultivation techniques, they eventually started full-scale water parsley farming. As they expanded their operations, they formed a crop group, eventually establishing the "Jagulsan Cheongjeong Field Water Parsley" crop group with up to 30 members.

Sae Tongyeong Nonghyup couple Sehyun Kim and Gapseon Kim.

Mr. and Mrs. Kim, members of Saetongyeong Nonghyup, are veteran farmers with 40 years of experience cultivating strawberries in Gwangdo-myeon, Tongyeong City.

The couple, after getting married in 1982 and living in the city, returned to Tongyeong to care for Kim's ailing mother. To make a living, they worked as substitute laborers on other farms, enduring difficult times until a friend's suggestion inspired them to pursue strawberry cultivation. They utilize elevated bed cultivation instead of traditional soil-based methods, and have widely shared this technique with crop group members?now over 90% of strawberry farms in Tongyeong use the elevated bed method. In addition, by introducing eco-friendly pest management using Chileiri mites, they increased strawberry productivity by over 30%, and developed various packaging materials that meet shipping standards, visibly enhancing the marketability of their strawberries.

The "Saenongmin Award Grand Prize" is an annual award (presented to approximately 20 couples) given by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation to the top agricultural leaders selected from among the monthly Saenongmin Award recipients. Government commendations are also presented in conjunction with this award.