Yeongyang-gun, Nam Yeongyang Agricultural Cooperative selected for vegetable distribution facility project

Yeongyang-gun in North Gyeongsang Province and the Nam Yeongyang Agricultural Cooperative have been selected for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' vegetable distribution facility support project this year.

According to Yeongyang-gun, the county received conditional approval in April and was formally confirmed as a project recipient after completing administrative procedures and refining its detailed implementation plan.

The county plans to invest a total of 10 billion won ($7.55 million) to expand the dried red pepper distribution infrastructure and increase purchase volumes, with the aim of stabilizing farm household incomes.

The funding comprises 4 billion won in national grants, 3 billion won in local government funds and 3 billion won contributed by the Nam Yeongyang Agricultural Cooperative, for a combined total of 10 billion won.

The Nam Yeongyang Agricultural Cooperative, which will lead project implementation, plans to build advanced cold-storage and vegetable distribution control facilities from this year through 2028.

The cooperative also intends to expand contract farming and strengthen farmer organization to overhaul its production and purchasing systems.

The county will provide administrative support — including permits and approvals needed for facility construction — and pursue regional brand marketing.

The Nam Yeongyang Agricultural Cooperative will handle contract farm management, standardized production oversight, and securing stable purchasing channels and sales outlets.

The two organizations aim to build an integrated system linking production to retail distribution, reducing market uncertainty for farmers and improving income stability.

Yeongyang County Chief Oh Do-chang said the county would provide full administrative support "so that this project can serve as a catalyst for improving the fundamentals of Yeongyang's red pepper industry and injecting vitality into the local economy."

Park Myeong-sul, chairman of the Nam Yeongyang Agricultural Cooperative, said the final selection "is the fruit of the passion of our cooperative members and farmers," adding that the cooperative would do its utmost in building the facility and managing contract farming "to open, as promised, an era of 600-ton annual purchases without a hitch, so that the peppers grown with sweat and toil fetch a fair price."