Naju City in Jeollanam-do announced on the 11th that it has completed the purchase of 9,574 tons of public stockpiled rice from the 2023 harvest.
The general rice variety purchased was ‘Sindongjin Saechungmu,’ with the highest grade ‘Special Grade’ accounting for 40% of the total.
This figure represents an 8% increase from 32% last year, and despite difficult conditions such as rising agricultural material costs and labor shortages, farmers produced high-quality rice and reaped the fruits of their labor for the year.
Yoon Byung-tae, Mayor of Naju City, visiting the 2023 public grain reserve rice purchase site. [Photo by Naju City]
This year’s public stockpiled rice purchase volume was 1,591 tons of paddy rice (unthreshed rice) and 7,983 tons of dried rice (7,624 tons of bagged rice, 95 tons of eco-friendly rice, and 264 tons of rice powder).
Payment for the purchase is made by first providing an interim settlement payment of 30,000 KRW (based on 40kg) immediately after procurement, and then reflecting the nationwide average farmgate rice price during the harvest season (October to December), the purchase price is finalized in December and paid to farmers by the end of the year.
The city has been striving to produce high-quality rice by completing the Mi-gok Integrated Processing Center (Integrated RPC) in Donggang-myeon last May through the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ high-quality rice distribution activation project.
The Integrated RPC is the largest processing modernization facility in the country, capable of processing 10 tons of polished rice per hour and up to 20,000 tons annually, and is equipped with drying and storage facilities that can accommodate 8,400 tons of rice.
The ‘Wanggeoni Tamnaen Bap’ (brand name), produced and processed by the Naju Nonghyup Rice Cooperative Joint Business Corporation, was selected as one of the top 10 high-quality brand rices in Jeollanam-do in 2023, recognized as a trustworthy rice brand.
Mayor Yoon Byung-tae visited 15 public stockpiled rice purchase warehouses in towns, townships, and neighborhoods from the 9th to the 28th of last month to encourage farmers who worked hard to produce high-quality rice.
Mayor Yoon said, “I thank the farmers who sweated to produce high-quality Naju rice despite difficult conditions, as well as related organizations such as the Agricultural Products Quality Management Service and Nonghyup for their cooperation in smooth procurement.”
He added, “We will do our best to create sustainable agriculture and a returning rural community so that the dedication of farmers, who protect agriculture as a national life industry and a key industry, can be respected.”
Naju = Kim Yukbong, Honam Reporting Headquarters, Asia Economy baekok@asiae.co.kr
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