Icheon City Conducts Nationwide First Rice Transplanting for 'Imperial Quality Icheon Rice'

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Eom In-yong] While 'Korea's Premium Imperial Quality Icheon Rice' continues to earn its reputation as a world-class rice, Icheon City conducted the nation's first rice transplanting on the 13th in the Anpyeong 3-ri area of Hobeop-myeon.

The first rice transplanting event, sponsored by Icheon City and organized by the Icheon Regional Agricultural Cooperative, took place in connected greenhouses (990㎡ area) where Mayor Kim Gyeong-hee, along with city council members and local organization leaders, transplanted seedlings of domestically-developed early-maturing varieties.

In preparation for this rice transplanting, the city worked together with Hobeop Agricultural Cooperative to soak seeds on the 13th of last month and sow seedlings on January 17th, conducting the transplanting 27 days later. The rice transplanted on this day is expected to be harvested in mid-June.

The reason Icheon City was able to conduct the nation's first rice transplanting despite February's cold weather is that it utilizes heat generated from the nearby regional waste resource recovery facility, maintaining an optimal temperature of 20℃ in the pesticide-free, eco-friendly rice cultivation greenhouse and providing the best environment throughout the rice's growth period.

Mayor Kim Gyeong-hee stated, "As Icheon rice, which is recognized as the highest quality brand and is being exported overseas, we organized this first rice transplanting event with the pride of our farmers," and added, "The city plans to make its best efforts for continuous quality improvement of the premium Imperial Quality Icheon Rice."