Wanju County Council Member Seonamyong Seo, "Measures Needed to Address Crop Diseases and Pest Damage Including Rice Blast"

Published 08 Oct.2021 13:15(KST)

[Wanju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Han-ho] Seo Nam-yong, a member of the Wanju County Council, argued on the 8th that urgent measures are needed to address damage caused by rice panicle blast and other pests and diseases.

At the 263rd extraordinary session, Seo Nam-yong proposed the "Resolution Urging Measures to Address Damage from Rice Panicle Blast and Other Pests and Diseases" as the representative, stating, "This year's unusually prolonged autumn rainy season, which should have brought beneficial rain, has instead become tears for the farmers."

Seo said, "The Sindongjin variety, mainly cultivated in Jeonbuk, is vulnerable to rice panicle blast. Although farmers took preemptive pest control measures, due to the characteristics of the pesticide that requires more than 24 hours after application to take effect, and because it rained roughly every two days, effective pest control was not achieved."

As a result, farmers are recognizing this as a natural disaster and are demanding compensation.

Nevertheless, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Jeollabuk-do are only showing a fundamental stance that pests and diseases cannot be recognized as natural disasters.

However, Seo pointed out that in 2014, there was a case in the Jeonnam region where disaster support was provided due to the autumn rainy season during the heading period.

Therefore, through the resolution, Seo requested that the government and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs recognize rice panicle blast and other pests and diseases caused by the autumn rainy season as natural disasters, and that Jeollabuk-do improve and distribute the Sindongjin variety, the main rice variety in the province, to be resistant to pests and diseases.