Hwaseong to Provide 140 Billion Won Support for Agriculture in FTA Response

Hwaseong City has established a long-term development plan for the agricultural sector to actively respond to domestic and external changes in the agricultural product market caused by FTA and other factors, and will provide 140 billion won in support for the agricultural sector by 2015.

The city has established a long-term agricultural development plan in response to FTA to improve the quality of life of farmers through stable income growth and market expansion, and announced on the 16th that it will provide a total of 140 billion won for 42 projects across 10 major agricultural sectors by 2015.

The 10 major agricultural sectors include modernization of agricultural facilities, promotion of eco-friendly agriculture, development of region-specific crops, support for Hwaseong grape brand enhancement, activation of rural tourism, Hwaseong grape cultural and tourism complex development project, Hatssal Dri brand establishment, farmer welfare support, agricultural workforce development, and rice industry development strategy.

Major support projects include 31.5 billion won in business expenses to support 14 projects for eco-friendly agriculture promotion such as eco-friendly agricultural material support and production support, 30 billion won to support 5 projects for agricultural workforce development including farmer organizations and successor farmer business management, and 18 billion won for agricultural facility modernization projects such as thermal curtain installation and greenhouse facility improvements.

A city official stated, "In preparation for the Korea-China and Korea-Japan FTAs, we will discover urgent tasks in FTA response through organic information sharing between farmers and related organizations, and will continue to make efforts for agricultural development so that it remains unshaken by external circumstances through medium and long-term agricultural development plans in response to FTA."