In alignment with the government's policy to expand eco-friendly agriculture, the Gyeongsangbuk-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services undertook a 6-night, 7-day official visit to Switzerland from August 15 (Saturday) to August 21 (Friday) to explore ways to revitalize sustainable eco-friendly agriculture.

During this trip, the agency plans to promote international joint research in the organic sector, tour the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in Switzerland to benchmark best practices in smart agriculture and agricultural policy support systems, and discover new policy initiatives.

Gyeongsangbuk-do has maintained a joint research partnership for organic agricultural technology development with FiBL since 2017, spanning 9 years. By introducing advanced Swiss technologies, the province has developed control technologies for domestic plum pocket disease and verified the effectiveness of biological control agents against major pests such as the peach fruit moth. Additionally, it has conducted technical exchanges by testing the effectiveness of stinkbug repellents developed by the Agricultural Research and Extension Services locally in Switzerland.

Switzerland is recognized as an advanced nation in organic agriculture, where 18 percent of total agricultural land is managed organically, and per capita organic food consumption is among the highest in the world. This success is evaluated as the result of an organic connection among technology development, policy support for eco-friendly agricultural participants, and active consumer markets and distribution systems.

In particular, with its well-developed mountainous fruit industry, Switzerland actively conducts research, development, and field demonstrations of smart agricultural technologies, such as precision agriculture utilizing GPS and various sensors, and intelligent weeding agricultural robots. Through this visit, the province plans to review agricultural mechanization technologies applicable to the domestic fruit industry.

By visiting local organic farms and distribution sites, the delegation will examine the integrated structure connecting the production, certification, processing, distribution, and consumption of eco-friendly agricultural products. They also aim to analyze policy support systems, such as eco-friendly direct payment subsidies, to find applicable measures for domestic implementation.

The delegation is visiting FiBL, the Tänikon Research Station of Agroscope (Switzerland's federal agricultural research institution), and the Swiss Future Farm to examine the entire process from the development to field application of precision agricultural technologies, including biological control technology, environmental safety evaluation technology, agricultural robots, and automation technology.

Cho Young-sook, Director-General of the Gyeongsangbuk-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services, stated, "Through joint research with the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, we will develop organic and smart agriculture models that can be practically utilized in Gyeongsangbuk-do's agricultural fields, fostering the region as a leader in sustainable future agriculture."

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