[Yonhap News Photo]
SEOUL -- A rural farm village festival was held in the southwestern seaside county of Haenam to celebrate the first harvest of bananas grown at a farmhouse which has adopted full-scale cultivation, underlining a climate change caused by global warming on the Korean peninsula.
After a test operation, about 470 banana trees were planted at a farmhouse in Haenam, and the first harvest began on August 13. Haenam hopes to harvest 12 tons of bananas from two farmhouses this year and increase production gradually to 25 tons per year.
Banana farming had been possible only on the southern resort island of Jeju, known for subtropical weather. According to the state-run Rural Development Administration, South Korea's average temperature has risen fast to become home to an increasing number of fruits and grains that have never been harvested before.
Haenam has accelerated the commercialization of cultivation techniques for subtropical and tropical plants, with its agricultural research center setting up a special greenhouse to test the cultivation of apple mango, banana, passion fruit and dragon fruit.
Bananas, which account for more than 50 percent of all imported fruits, have gained popularity in South Korea due to soaring prices of apples and other home-grown fruits. Young women use bananas as meal replacement food or for a weight loss diet.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
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