Icheon Advances Development of 'Juhyangmi' Rice Cultivation Complex

[Suwon Ilbo=Eom In-yong Reporter] Icheon City announced on the 5th that it carried out rice transplanting on the 2nd to establish a cultivation complex for 'Juhyangmi,' a processing rice variety.

This rice transplanting was conducted as part of the 'Processing Rice Juhyangmi Cultivation Complex Development Project,' which aims to build a production foundation for processing rice in response to changing consumer trends and create new rice demand.

Juhyangmi (Miryang 385) is a processing rice variety developed by the National Institute of Crop Science in 2024, characterized by excellent aroma during distilled spirits production and superior processing stability, making it highly valuable as a premium spirits raw material.

The city is creating a 3-hectare Juhyangmi cultivation complex in the Gobaek-ri area of Bubal-eup this year and conducting regional adaptation testing. Through contract cultivation between agricultural company Na Jeong and Hite Jinro Co., Ltd., stable distribution channels for Juhyangmi production are being secured, which is expected to contribute to farm income stabilization and fostering the processing rice industry.

The Agricultural Technology Center plans to establish cultivation techniques suitable for the Icheon region and build a stable production foundation through step-by-step on-site technical support including seedling management, main field management, and growth surveys.

The Juhyangmi produced at this cultivation complex is expected to be utilized as a raw material for premium spirits in the future, anticipated to contribute to securing new outlets in response to declining rice consumption and stabilizing farm income.

Additionally, by expanding the existing Icheon rice brand, which has centered on high-quality table rice, into the processing rice sector, it is expected to help foster regionally specialized processing industries and create high-value-added rice industry growth.

Kim Dong-ho, director of the Icheon City Agricultural Technology Center, stated, "Processing rice cultivation is a new alternative to respond to changing rice consumption patterns and diversify farm income," and added, "We will establish a sustainable rice industry foundation where farmers, businesses, and local communities grow together through establishing stable Juhyangmi cultivation techniques and expanding the production foundation."