Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok and Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryeong visited the 'Naepo Farm' apple orchard in Yesan, South Chungcheong Province, on the 9th to check the growth condition during the apple flowering period. The Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs explained that this field inspection was aimed at assessing this year's apple production conditions and exploring ways to support the restoration of affected farms after the wildfires that occurred in the North Gyeongsang Province area last month.
Naepo Farm is an orchard that has installed disaster prevention facilities such as hail damage prevention systems, sunlight blockers, windbreak nets, and smart systems like automated watering facilities.
Deputy Prime Minister Choi and Minister Song inspected disaster prevention facilities including portable hot air fan machines that spread warm air throughout the cultivation area to prevent frost damage, as well as the automated watering facilities, and assessed the flowering situation.
Deputy Prime Minister Choi encouraged those in the fruit production field, which are facing increasing difficulties due to recent abnormal weather, and noted, 'We will expand budget support to increase specialized smart orchard complexes and enhance disaster prevention facilities to establish a stable production base against climate change.'
Deputy Prime Minister Choi continued, 'Fruit is closely related to the perceived prices,' urging local governments and the Rural Development Administration, as well as NongHyup, to manage the growth carefully during the flowering period.
Minister Song stated, 'We will promote the expansion of smart agriculture, such as smart orchards, and diversify the production and supply base to achieve stable management of agricultural products supply under abnormal climate conditions.'
The government announced last April that it aims to foster the fruit-growing industry, equipped with capabilities to respond to climate change and competiveness, by implementing the 'Measures to Enhance Competitiveness of the Fruit Industry.' Since then, it has been pursuing key tasks including the expansion of disaster prevention facilities, the creation of specialized smart orchard complexes, and improvements in contract farming methods.
The government is currently considering measures to support the restoration of the smart orchard type in the North Gyeongsang Province region, which recently suffered from wildfires. This includes supporting improvements to the orchard as they purify the soil and plant new seedlings, enhancing it into a high-tech smart farm.
It is reported that the relevant budget will soon be included in the government’s supplementary budget proposal to be announced shortly. Minister Song noted, 'There are many apple orchards among the areas affected by this wildfire,' adding, 'I believe it is appropriate to introduce smart equipment for disaster response and transform it into a future-oriented orchard at this opportunity. We are preparing to reflect this boldly in the supplementary budget proposal.'