Damyang-gun Continues to Promote 'Region-Specific Customized Rice Variety Development'

Extension of Memorandum of Understanding with National Institute of Crop Science for Development of Region-Specific Customized Rice Varieties

[Damyang=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] On the 17th, Damyang-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that it has extended the business agreement signed with the Rural Development Administration’s National Institute of Crop Science for five years from March 2016 to March 2021, regarding ‘Development of regionally specialized customized rice varieties,’ until 2026.

Damyang-gun is the only county-level area in Jeollanam-do conducting rice breeding projects to develop rice varieties suitable for the local environment.

For rice variety development, the National Institute of Crop Science and the county conducted artificial crossbreeding, line breeding tests, and productivity verification tests, selecting Damyang No.1 in 2018 and Damyang No.2 in 2019, and performed regional adaptation tests at four locations nationwide. In 2020, Damyang No.3 was also selected.

Rice variety development is a long-term project that takes more than 10 years from artificial crossbreeding to variety development. As the business agreement ended in March 2021, it was newly extended for five years from April 2021 to ensure that the developed superior varieties can be established as regional varieties.

Additionally, the county was selected for the ‘2020 Second Half Korean Research Foundation Professional Career Personnel Invitation Support Project’ and invited Dr. Ko Jaegwon, former head of the Rice Breeding and Cultivation Division at the National Institute of Crop Science. Since September last year, Dr. Ko has been providing advice on rice variety development for three years. The selected superior lines will undergo regional adaptation tests and are scheduled to sequentially apply for variety protection starting in 2022.

A county official stated, “Through the extension of the agreement with the National Institute of Crop Science, which has excellent rice breeding technology, we will develop customized rice suitable for the region,” adding, “We will contribute not only to enhancing brand value but also to revitalizing the sixth industrialization, becoming a strong agricultural county.”

Meanwhile, Damyang-gun is attempting ‘Globalization of Damyang Strawberries’ by independently developing new strawberry varieties such as Jukhyang and Mary Queen, and is also promoting the development of varieties such as blueberry and melon as key policy tasks.

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