On the 29th, a massive greenhouse sat in the middle of rice paddies and fields in Gwangseok-myeon, Nonsan, South Chungcheong. As the door opened and we stepped in, the air felt cooler than outside. The pillars supporting the greenhouse rose about 7 meters high, so you had to tilt your head back to see the top. Thanks to a structure that vents hot air upward through the upper windows, the inside temperature is said to stay constant 365 days a year.
The site visited that day was a smart farm that grows the functional tomato "Ricomato," sold by E-MART. Ricomato is a variety that boosts the content of lycopene, an antioxidant, to about three times that of regular tomatoes, and it was recently launched exclusively at E-MART. Lycopene is known to reduce reactive oxygen species that attack cells in the body, helping prevent aging and strengthen immunity. It targets the functional tomato market following stevia tomatoes.
Kim Hyo-jin, a buyer in charge of domestic fruit at E-MART, said, "In countries such as Japan, functional tomatoes like those high in vitamin C and GABA are already distributed in many forms," and added, "We developed Ricomato with the aim of cultivating a functional tomato to follow stevia, which emphasizes a healthy sweetness, in the domestic market."
E-MART focused on the importance of the cultivation environment in the process. Functional varieties like Ricomato can only realize their quality under perfect, lab-like conditions. As cultivation environments grow more unstable due to recent climate change, the need for smart farm facilities is increasing to ensure a stable supply.
Read more at Chosun Biz
