Gwangju City Promotes Joint Drone Pest Control for Farmland Damaged by Heavy Rain

2000ha of Farmland Damaged by Heavy Rainfall... First Since Metropolitan City Promotion

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 23rd that it will conduct joint pest and disease control targeting 2,000 hectares of flooded rice paddies and adjacent farmland.

This joint control was promoted to support farmers in the affected areas as pests and diseases are expected to occur more frequently and spread due to recent prolonged monsoon rains and heavy rainfall damage.

Until now, pest control work has been carried out individually by farmers, and this is the first time joint control has been promoted since the city was elevated to metropolitan status.

Due to the recent heavy rainfall, diseases such as rice blast, bacterial leaf blight, and sheath blight are of concern for rice crops. These diseases spread rapidly in warm and humid growing environments, and neglecting control can significantly reduce yields.

Gwangju City plans to promptly support the affected areas by investing a total of 400 million KRW (200 million KRW from city funds, 120 million KRW from the Nonghyup, and 80 million KRW from farmers' contributions) in cooperation with the Nonghyup Gwangju Regional Headquarters and local Nonghyup branches to carry out pest control work.

The control will be conducted from the 24th of this month to the 2nd of next month using 32 agricultural drones owned by the Nonghyup Joint Control Project Group, 2 large-scale sprayers, and 2,413 power sprayers.

Farmers wishing to participate in the joint control can apply at their local Nonghyup branch.

Park Nam-eon, Director of the City’s Job and Economy Office, said, “Due to the heavy rainfall, pest and disease outbreaks are expected to worsen, causing great concern for farmers. We will maximize the effectiveness of pest control through emergency joint control and support reducing the burden of pest control costs for affected farmers and stabilizing rice supply and demand.”

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