Jinju City Supplies Eco-Friendly Snails... Accelerating Production of Premium Eco-Friendly Rice

Distribution of Snails for Weed Control to 966 Farms
Supporting Safe Agricultural Produce Production

Supply of Eco-friendly Farming Snails Photo by Jinju City

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Jinju City, Gyeongnam Province, has decided to supply 22.5 tons of rice snail, an eco-friendly agricultural material used for weeding, to 105 complexes and 966 farms to promote eco-friendly farming and enhance rice quality.

According to the city, this year, 180 million KRW will be invested to supply rice snails for weeding over 900 hectares, which is 200 hectares more than last year. The support amount is 2.5 kg per 10 ares.

In Jinju, rice seedling transplantation began in earnest from the 17th, and the rice snails will be supplied at the optimal time, which is 7 days after transplantation, and are expected to be introduced into the paddies within 5 to 10 days.

Meanwhile, the city is supporting agricultural materials for weeding to break away from the conventional practice of spraying herbicides, fertilizers, and pesticides, aiming to produce safe agricultural products and promote public health.

Additionally, to reduce agricultural management costs, the city also supports organic farming materials, potting soil, packaging materials, and more, providing assistance to farmers.

Mr. Kang from Jinseong-myeon, Jinju City, said, “As consumer patterns for agricultural products shift towards organic and functional agricultural products, the eco-friendly rice snail farming method is expected to enhance the competitiveness of rice farming,” adding, “This year, I plan to cultivate eco-friendly certified rice starting with the rice snail farming method.”

A city official stated, “The rice snail farming method supplements the labor of aging farmers and has the great advantage of not using herbicides, so demand from farmers is continuously expanding. However, for the sustainable use of rice snails, it is necessary for farmers to actively cooperate by mandatorily collecting the snails after the project is completed or by plowing the fields where snails are introduced to prevent winter damage.”

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