ICHEON, South Korea, Jan. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Marking the nation’s earliest rice planting of the year, farmers in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, carried out the season’s first transplanting ceremony on February 13.
Local authorities and agricultural cooperatives gathered at 2:30 p.m. in Anpyeong 3-ri, Hobup-myeon, where they planted domestic early-maturing ‘Jingwang’ rice seedlings in a 990-square-meter greenhouse paddy.
The seedlings had been sown on January 17, setting the stage for an early harvest expected by mid-June, with a projected yield of approximately 240 kilograms.
While most rice paddies in South Korea see planting take place in April or May, Icheon’s annual practice of initiating the process months earlier is made possible by an innovative use of residual heat from a nearby waste-to-energy facility.
The facility maintains the greenhouse at a stable 20 degrees Celsius, the optimal temperature for rice growth, allowing for successful early cultivation even in frigid winter conditions.
The unseasonal snow and freezing temperatures that blanketed Icheon the previous day did little to disrupt the event. Inside the heated greenhouse, farmers carried out the planting undeterred, continuing a longstanding tradition.
Icheon has consistently led the country in early rice planting, a practice it has upheld every February or March for years. The city’s pioneering approach demonstrates the potential for sustainable and efficient agricultural methods in South Korea’s evolving farming landscape.
Image credit: City of Icheon, Yonhap / photonews@koreabizwire.com
