While many agricultural products in South Korea still rely heavily on foreign seeds, the staple crop of rice has seen a significant shift, with domestic seed varieties now accounting for over 90% of the cultivated area. This marks a major step towards achieving seed sovereignty.

According to the Rural Development Administration, only 4% of the total rice cultivation area in South Korea was planted with foreign varieties as of 2023. This means that 96% of the rice produced in the country comes from domestic varieties. Once-dominant Japanese rice varieties, previously considered premium, have been replaced by domestically developed varieties.

The most notable changes have occurred in Gyeonggi Province. Unlike Jeonnam and Chungnam, where domestic varieties have long been prevalent, Gyeonggi, which has historically favored Japanese varieties in its high-priced rice market, has seen a significant shift.

According to Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Agricultural Research and Extension Services, 70% (51,241 hectares) of the province's 73,187 hectares of rice fields were planted with domestic varieties last year, an increase of 2 percentage points from the previous year.

Over the years, the area planted with domestic varieties in Gyeonggi Province has risen from 22,236 hectares in 2017 to 38,792 hectares in 2020, and to 50,074 hectares in 2022. The proportion of domestic varieties increased from 28% in 2017 to 68% in 2022.

As a result, Japanese varieties such as ‘Chucheong’ and ‘Koshihikari’, which were once synonymous with Gyeonggi rice, are gradually disappearing. The area planted with Japanese varieties has decreased from 56,248 hectares (71.7%) in 2017 to 21,946 hectares (30%) last year.

Specifically, ‘Chucheong’, which held the top spot for several decades, saw its cultivation area shrink from 46,599 hectares (59.4%) in 2017 to 15,604 hectares (21.3%) last year, threatening its leading position. ‘Koshihikari’, which was the second most planted variety in 2017, has dropped to sixth place.

Lee Hee-beom, president of the Korean Rice Farmers Association in Icheon (67, Seon-eup 2-ri, Janghowon-eup), who farms 10 hectares (30,000 pyeong) of rice fields, said, “Domestic varieties like ‘Alchanmi’ and ‘Haedle’ are popular among farmers because they taste good and are easy to cultivate. Nowadays, no one plants ‘Chucheong’ in Icheon.”

Some regions have long achieved seed independence. As of the end of last year, 98% of the total rice cultivation area (149,896 hectares) in Jeonnam was planted with domestic varieties, with foreign varieties like ‘Hitomebore’ accounting for just 0.6%.

The same trend is observed in Chungnam. According to the Chungnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services, although ‘Chucheong’ and ‘Koshihikari’ were partly cultivated in Dangjin and Asan, which are close to Gyeonggi Province, these varieties have mostly disappeared since around 2020, and now there are almost no farmers growing Japanese varieties.

This shift is attributed to the government's and local governments' efforts to secure seed sovereignty by developing and promoting domestic varieties, combined with consumers recognizing their quality, leading farmers to actively adopt domestic varieties.

In Jeonnam, the ‘Saechungmu’ variety, developed by the Jeonnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services (Director Park Hong-jae) and distributed in collaboration with the Jeonnam Agricultural Cooperative Headquarters (Director Park Jong-tak), played a significant role.

The cultivation area for ‘Saechungmu’ expanded from just 5,000 hectares in 2019 to 81,276 hectares in 2023, more than a 16-fold increase in four years, effectively displacing Japanese varieties.

In Gyeonggi Province, ‘Cham Dream’, developed in 2014 and selected as a government-distributed variety in 2020, saw its cultivation area increase by 1,834 hectares to 13,526 hectares last year.

New varieties continue to be developed. Last year, the Gyeonggi Agricultural Research and Extension Services developed and applied for a patent for ‘Hangadeuk’, a mid-late maturing variety, and this year developed ‘Gyeonggi 15’, a specialized variety for the Yeoncheon area, also applying for a patent.

The Chungnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services has succeeded in developing ultra-early maturing varieties like ‘Parmi’ (which matures in just 80 days) and specialty varieties like ‘Okyangheukchal’, ‘Baekokhyang’, and ornamental rice ‘Jaguang’. The Gyeongbuk Agricultural Research and Extension Services developed the early maturing ‘Daol’ and glutinous rice ‘Gureumchal’ in 2022, and the Gyeongnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services is in the process of patenting a new variety, ‘Gyeongwon’.

An official from the Gyeonggi Agricultural Research and Extension Services stated, “Starting this year, we will focus on developing stable cultivation techniques for domestic varieties to cope with climate change.”

Reporters: Choi Sang-goo, Yoo Geon-yeon, Seo Ryun, Lee Si-nae, Choi Sang-il in Hwaseong and Icheon; Photos by Kim Byung-jin

Source: 농민뉴스