Yangju City’s “2026 New Year Practical Education for Farmers” Heats Up with 123% Application Rate

The "2026 New Year Practical Education for Farmers," promoted by Yangju City in Gyeonggi Province to achieve sustainable agricultural development and enhance the competitiveness of local farmers, is progressing smoothly amid enthusiastic interest from the farming community.

Yangju City’s "2026 New Year Practical Education for Farmers," which is being promoted to achieve sustainable agricultural development and enhance the competitiveness of local farmers, is progressing smoothly amid enthusiastic interest from farmers. Photo by Yangju City

This training, which began on December 12 of last year, is being held at the Yangju Agricultural Technology Center for a total of 15 days until January 23. The city has organized 17 courses across three fields-farming technology, rural resources, and agricultural management & marketing-providing education to approximately 700 farmers.

In particular, this year’s training attracted attention from the recruitment phase. A total of 871 people registered, far exceeding the initial plan of 700, resulting in a high application rate of 123%, which demonstrates the strong enthusiasm for learning among Yangju farmers.

To respond to the rapidly changing agricultural environment and climate change, Yangju City has newly established seven courses this year, significantly improving the quality of the training. Key new courses include education on utilizing ChatGPT (AI) for young farmers, smart farm cultivation techniques for shiitake mushrooms, pear cultivation techniques to cope with abnormal climate, and agricultural work safety (prevention of serious accidents), all of which focus on strengthening the ability to solve on-site problems.

The training schedule included courses for agricultural leaders, chili peppers, pears, and rice cultivation last month. In January, the following courses are planned: young farmers & agricultural work safety on the 6th, soybeans on the 7th, agricultural taxation on the 8th, rural experience farm operators on the 12th, women farmers on the 14th, local food & beginner urban farmers on the 15th, urban farming experts on the 16th, microorganisms on the 20th, food culture on the 22nd, and beekeeping on the 23rd.

An official from the Yangju Agricultural Technology Center stated, "This training has been prepared so that farmers can scientifically design their annual farming plans and proactively respond to changing agricultural trends," adding, "Even after the training is completed, we will continue to improve our field-oriented education programs through comprehensive evaluations and feedback collection."