Province and Farmers Join Together for Farm Experience Tour
(September 26, 2011)

Nine out of fifteen tours finished
Stimulating the farming and fishing economy

– The Farm Experience Tour takes you around the production lines in remote villages. The photo shows participants making cheese at Cheonggye Farm in Yeoju. (GNews Plus)

Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Green & Agriculture Foundation (GGAF) have joined forces for the City-Farm Exchange Experience Tour to build a bridge between the city and the suburbs.

Under this program, participants, usually from urban homes, will have an opportunity to visit and experience farm production processes. Twenty of these tours were launched last year, and nine of the fifteen programs scheduled for 2011 have already finished.

The tour can be chosen by region: Cheonggye Farm and Deer Village in Yeoju; Ahopmajigi Village in Gapyeong; Gume Farm Village in Anseong; Green Smile Village in Pyeongtaek; Geumdang Kalopanax Tree Village in Hwaseong, and many more. Each tour is prepared in close collaboration with the local district office.

The tours feature a variety of programs related with the produce of a given area. Activities include gathering sweet potatoes, mushrooms, pine nuts, or cabbages from the fields, making soy bean paste, threshing grains, and dairy farming.

– Dig out sweet potatoes from the ground on the Deer Village Experience Tour in Yeoju. Participants dig to collect sweet potatoes. (GNews Plus)

Roh Gyeong-sin, who took part in the Deer Village Experience Tour, said, “I had lots of fun making cheese and collecting sweet potatoes. The children love it.”

It seems the program has contributed to stimulating the local economy. An official stated that not only does this tour connect cities and farm communities but it also boosts sales of agricultural produce.

Lee Yeon-ok, head of the steering committee for Deer Village, said, “We were able to provide sweet potatoes and melons at competitive prices. The tourists really boost the local economy.”

Lee Hae-ju, section chief of the GGAF, said, “Farmers can advertise the goodness of their produce by demonstrating the production process to the public, while consumers can purchase products that have been certified as reliablefor reasonable prices. It¡¯s a win-win deal for both parties. The city-farm project benefits them both.”

Six more tours are available between October 6^th and November 3^rd. For further details, please visit the GGAF website at: ggaf.or.kr.

– GNews Plus News | Roh Soon-ik rohsoon45@gmail.com

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