Forest fire damage in Andong orchards to be transformed into a specialized smart orchard complex.

(Andong=Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Seung-hyeong = Three districts in the province, including the Andong orchard area that suffered major wildfire damage earlier this year, will be developed into specialized smart orchard complexes. According to Gyeongbuk Province on the 11th, three apple orchard complexes in the areas of Gilan-myeon in Andong City, Hyeondong-myeon in Cheongsong County, and Gibuk-myeon in Pohang City were selected in the '2026 Smart Orchard Specialized Complex Development Project' bid by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The development of smart orchard specialized complexes is a project that supports new varieties and shape conversions that are resistant to disasters, information and communication technology equipment, unmanned facilities, disaster prevention facilities, and shared equipment to enhance the competitiveness of the fruit industry in response to climate change and the aging of farmers. Gyeongbuk Province secured 128 billion won in project funds for three years in the bid for the three locations. With a total of 61.3 hectares, including 21.7 hectares (51 households) in Pohang's Gibuk-myeon, 20.1 hectares (19 households) in Andong's Gilan-myeon, and 19.5 hectares (27 households) in Cheongsong's Hyeondong-myeon, it is the largest project scale in the country. The province expects that once the project is completed, it will serve as a base for the Gyeongbuk Apple Industry Transformation Project, the 'Gyeongbuk-style Flat Apple Orchard (Ultra-dense Type + Multi-axis Type)'. Last September, the province proposed the flat apple orchard as a future apple industry model, aiming to convert 30% of the apple cultivation area, or 6,000 hectares, into a flat form by 2030, and has so far developed 1,548 hectares. The province plans to focus on the permanent recovery of orchards damaged by wildfires and the transformation of the apple industry by investing 144 billion won in the project next year. Kim Ju-ryeong, Director of the Gyeongbuk Agricultural and Livestock Distribution Bureau, said, "We will completely transform the fire-damaged orchards and outdated orchards into smart orchards equipped with the latest ICT equipment and unmanned facilities, and based on this, we will be able to accelerate the achievement of the flat apple orchard creation goal."