Visited the Netherlands, Denmark, and France for Seven Days
"Presenting a Standard Model for Revitalizing Declining Rural Areas"
Suncheon City, South Jeolla Province (Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu), announced on the 7th that on the 4th (local time), it visited Denmark's world-renowned food industry cluster 'Agro Food Park' and the Netherlands' 'Wageningen University' to explore strategies for fostering the green bio industry, where ecology drives the economy.
The city identified the cases of Agro Food Park and Wageningen University as the models most closely aligned with Suncheon’s vision of creating high-quality jobs and increasing local income by establishing a green bio forward base and cluster in Seungju-eup, and sought various ways to apply these models.
Noh Kwan-gyu, mayor of Suncheon, is discussing the green bio industry with representatives from Wageningen University. Provided by Suncheon City
Located in Aarhus, Denmark, 'Agro Food Park' is a cluster of over 100 companies aimed at creating high added value in the agri-food industry. It is responsible for 7% of the world's food supply and conducts more than 200 collaborative projects between companies annually.
'Wageningen University' is a globally renowned university in the field of agricultural bio, and serves as a core part of the world-class food industry cluster 'Food Valley', which consists of over 20 agri-food research institutes and more than 2,600 agri-food companies.
In particular, Food Valley is cited as a representative case of revitalizing declining rural areas by creating high-quality jobs and income models for local residents in the rural region of Wageningen.
The Suncheon city delegation discussed current issues and cooperation plans for the green bio industry with officials from Agro Food Park and Wageningen University, and received positive responses regarding the provision of know-how and joint research for the future 'E-Bio Suncheon' initiative.
Dr. Magal?n Bak of Wageningen University stated, "We will actively cooperate in various ways, including joint research projects, to foster the green bio industry that Suncheon City is pursuing."
Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu said, "It was a valuable opportunity to confirm how crucial it is to select promising industries, create high-quality jobs, and establish income models for local residents in order to revitalize declining rural areas." He added, "The green bio industry will become a model case that proves Suncheon's philosophy that ecology drives the economy."
The city delegation also visited the headquarters of L’Occitane in France on the 1st to confirm the potential for success of Suncheon’s full-cycle green bio industry development policy, 'E-Bio Suncheon'.
L’Occitane generates annual revenues of 1.8 billion euros by expanding beauty products made from locally specialized crops into tourism products, and contributes to the local economy through a win-win model that includes contract farming with local farmers and hiring local residents.
The city plans to build a bio-economy ecosystem and create future sources of income through organic links between local farmers, small business owners, and companies. In addition, the delegation examined urban regeneration cases in Utrecht and Amsterdam, Netherlands, to revitalize Suncheon’s original downtown area.
Utrecht restored the value of its original downtown by restoring canals and implementing a city-wide poster policy, reducing car usage in the city center to 5%. Amsterdam improved its people-centered urban environment through bicycle-oriented city design and pedestrian safety policies. Through these two cities, the delegation drew insights for transforming Suncheon’s original downtown into a vibrant space for water, people, culture, and economy.
Meanwhile, Suncheon City visited the Netherlands, Denmark, and France for seven days starting from May 31 to explore strategies for fostering the green bio industry.
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