"Let's create luxury apples"… Jeongseon County, expanding orchard area and modernizing facilities

(Jeongseon=Yonhap News) Reporter Park Young-seo = Jeongseon County in Gangwon Province announced on the 4th that it is pushing forward various projects to strategically expand apple cultivation areas as the suitable regions for apple farming are moving north due to climate change. Currently, 351 farms in Jeongseon are cultivating apples on a total area of 307 hectares. The county plans to expand the cultivation area to 500 hectares by 2030 through phased projects. Starting this year, the "Jeongseon Premium Apple Orchard Development Project" will create 10 hectares of new orchards annually. The project provides support for seedlings, trellises, drainage facilities, and more to help establish a stable production base. Additionally, the county is promoting a competition to create a smart orchard complex to establish a future-oriented orchard complex based on automation and unmanned systems. This year, the orchard facility modernization project for high-quality fruit will focus on supporting facilities necessary for disaster prevention and quality improvement. The purpose of these projects is to prepare for frequent droughts, heat waves, and cold spells caused by climate change, and to increase the sustainability of the apple industry through labor savings and quality standardization. During the project implementation, the county will conduct on-site inspections and follow-up management to increase the utilization rate of facilities. Agricultural Policy Division Chief Jeon Sang-geun said, "As climate change is both a crisis and an opportunity, we are strategically fostering an apple industry suited to Jeongseon's natural conditions," adding, "Through the expansion of cultivation areas and facility modernization, we will increase the competitiveness of Jeongseon apples and build a sustainable orchard industry base."