Goheung-gun Starts Busy Farming Season with First Rice Planting of the Year

Harvest Expected Around Late July, One Week Earlier Than Last Year

[Goheung=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Shim Jeong-woo] Goheung-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that it conducted the first rice transplanting of the year (at Sinbangsu farm) on the 10th in the Deungam-ri area of Goheung-eup.

The variety transplanted that day was Jinok-byeo, an early-maturing variety known for its excellent taste, with 4ha (out of a total planned 40ha) transplanted. Harvesting will begin from the end of July, and the rice will be sold as high-priced new rice at nationwide E-Mart, Coupang, Homeplus, etc., ahead of the unusually early Chuseok holiday.

Starting with the first transplanting that day, the county expects full-scale transplanting to proceed on 11,734ha until early June, including 20ha at Jukam Farm in Donggang-myeon and 15ha at Bawu Farm in Podu-myeon this week.

Goheung-gun supports stable rice production by providing rice seedling box treatment agents, seedling soil, organic fertilizers, soil conditioners, and facilities and equipment to reduce agricultural production costs.

However, apart from these supports, the reality is that annual per capita rice consumption has been continuously decreasing recently, and farmers' income is declining due to falling rice prices caused by oversupply.

A county official said, “Rather than increasing the area by cultivating high-yield varieties, it is necessary to stabilize rice supply and demand through appropriate rice production.” He added, “Applications for rice reduction agreements for rice cultivation fields in 2021 are being accepted at eup/myeon offices until May 31. Depending on the results, incentives such as additional allocation of public stock rice (150 bags/ha based on 40kg) and interest-free funds from local agricultural cooperatives will be provided to the relevant farms, so we ask for active participation.”

He also stated that they plan to induce high-quality rice production through timely transplanting, thorough pest and disease control, and eco-friendly cultivation, and will do their best to further enhance the high-quality brand value through continuous competitiveness improvement of Goheung rice.

Goheung=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Shim Jeong-woo sevenshim@asiae.co.kr

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