(Chuncheon=Yonhap News) Reporter Yang Ji-woong = The Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Agricultural Technology Institute announced on the 12th that it will distribute 3.6 tons (4.8 million won) of the new variety 'Hopungmi' sweet potato seeds for the 2025 crop to local farmers through city and county agricultural technology centers.
Hopungmi is a sweet potato with a red skin and a light orange flesh, known for its high sugar content and good taste, which has been well-received by consumers.
The yield is about 12% higher than the existing variety 'Hogammi', and it is resistant to major diseases such as vine wilt and powdery mildew, making it relatively easy to cultivate.
Japanese sweet potatoes account for about 52% of the domestic sweet potato market.
To address this, the Rural Development Administration National Institute of Crop Science developed Hopungmi, and has been distributing it to local farmers in Wonju and Chuncheon since the previous year to expand its cultivation in farming fields.
The annual sweet potato cultivation area in the province is about 500 hectares (requiring approximately 375 tons of seed potatoes).
The Hopungmi being distributed this time will be used for seed potato production next year.
Farmers or producer groups can apply to the relevant city and county agricultural technology centers by the 20th to receive them in early December.
The head of the High-Yield Crop Research Division said, "We will make efforts in promotion and the dissemination of cultivation technology so that the new variety of sweet potato, Hopungmi, which is favored by consumers and easy to cultivate, can be quickly established in the province and lead to an increase in farmers' income."
yangdoo@yna.co.kr