Haenam-gun Accelerates 'Zeroing Out' of Japanese Rice Varieties

Domestic High-Quality Rice Breeding Demonstration Complex Rice Transplanting Ceremony Held

Haenam-gun, in collaboration with the Rural Development Administration and Okcheon Nonghyup, conducted the first rice transplanting at the project site aimed at selecting superior domestic rice varieties to replace Japanese rice strains. (Photo by Haenam-gun)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do announced on the 20th that it conducted the first rice transplanting at the project site in Hyangchon Village, Okcheon-myeon, in collaboration with the Rural Development Administration and Okcheon Nonghyup, to select domestically developed superior rice varieties to replace Japanese rice varieties.

The transplanted varieties include four types developed by the Rural Development Administration?Saebonghwang, Yechan, Sugwang, Cheongpum?and Jeonnam No. 9, currently being bred by the Jeonnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services. These five varieties will be pilot-cultivated over 20 hectares in the Okcheon-myeon area for two years.

As of last year, Japanese rice varieties cultivated in Haenam-gun, such as Hitomebore and Koshihikari, cover 1,800 hectares, accounting for 10% of the total cultivation area.

The county plans to achieve zero cultivation area for Japanese varieties by 2025. Through this project, it will select the optimal variety suited to local conditions and develop it into Haenam’s premium rice brand, specialized for the region with the highest quality.

Meanwhile, the event attracted attention as it featured the first demonstration in Jeonnam of rice transplanting using an autonomous rice transplanter.

The autonomous rice transplanter integrates ICT technology, enabling straight-line autonomous driving, allowing one person to perform transplanting work that normally requires two, thereby reducing labor.

Additionally, the sparse rice transplanting method, a new rice cultivation technique promoted by the Rural Development Administration, reduces the number of rice seedlings transplanted per 3.3㎡ from 70 to 37?50, significantly lowering production costs and labor.

Myeong Hyun-gwan, Haenam County Governor, stated, “After establishing the pilot site, we plan to select one variety as the final choice and develop it into the top Haenam rice brand. It is highly meaningful that the decoupling of rice, the most important food resource, from Japan is starting in Haenam, the nation’s leading agricultural county.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.