ASEAN Food Security Officials Visiting Hwaseong-si to Learn About Smart Fruit Farms

Visit to Sustainable Agricultural Technologies for Responding to the Climate Crisis

Hwaseong City in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 13th that officials from five ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries involved in food security visited the city's Agricultural Technology Center's Fruit Premiumization Project Office on the 12th to observe the operation cases of fruit smart farms.

ASEAN food security officials visiting Hwaseong City Agricultural Technology Center to tour the advanced fruit smart farm facilities are committed to expanding sustainable agricultural technologies. Photo by Hwaseong City

The visit was arranged as part of a workshop hosted by the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS), attended by officials from Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines. AFSIS is a project in which ASEAN member countries, along with South Korea, Japan, and China, cooperate to collect, analyze, and distribute information to strengthen regional food security.

The visiting delegation toured the Fruit Premiumization Project Office facilities at the center and examined the open-field fruit smart farm operation cases that the center has been promoting since 2015.

The center introduced the 'Fruit ICT Integrated Information System,' which collects data through Hwaseong City's weather station observations to provide farms with information on pest outbreaks, weather risks, and growth stage predictions to enhance productivity, as well as the 'Fruit Smart Farm Integrated Control System,' which collects environmental data per farm in real time for precise environmental management and remote control.

The delegation also discussed the introduction of digital agricultural technologies to respond to climate change through Hwaseong City's sustainable agricultural model utilizing smart farm technology.

Song Seong-ho, director of Hwaseong Agricultural Technology Center, said, "The city is leading efforts to create a sustainable agricultural environment through continuous development of smart agricultural technologies. Through this visit, we will share smart farm operation know-how with ASEAN countries and strengthen international cooperation."