RICE HARVESTING SEASON

[Anchor Lead]

It’s a harvest season in Korea, and farmers in Cheorwon are busy these days harvesting rice, which will be shipped out before the Chuseok holiday.

[Pkg]

Cheorwon, located next to the Civilian Control Line in the demilitarized zone. A combine harvester plows through ripe rice plants. Rice grains are poured into a truck that will transport them back. This is the first harvest of the year in this village. It appears to be better than in previous years. The farmer looks satisfied.

[Soundbite] Lee Young-hoon(Farmer) : "It was too hot in the summer and there were too many pests. It was hard for all farmers. But now as we finally harvest our crops, it seems to be above average. I’m very satisfied."

This rice variety is called Cheolgi 50. It was developed by the Cheorwon Agricultural Technology Center. This rice variety can be harvested earlier than other varieties and shipped before the Chuseok holiday. Some 250 tons of rice will be produced by 18 farms in Cheorwon-gun County by the end of this month in time for one of the biggest family holidays in Korea. Last year, rice production in the county fell nearly 17 percent because of high precipitation, but this year it’s expected to increase by 25 percent from 2020. Local farmers’ efforts to control pests this year have turned out successful despite the capricious weather.

[Soundbite] Kim Mi-kyung(Cheorwon-gun County Government) : "Last year rice harvest was down 20 percent. But this year it will likely be 25 percent larger."

The government of Cheorwon-gun County plans to increase the production of the Cheolgi 50 rice variety next year to expand its shipment by eight-fold prior to the Chuseok holiday.