S. Korean farmers suffer from effects of abnormal climate patterns
Typhoons and prolonged monsoon season have led to poor harvests and steep price hikes for produce
Posted on : Sep.15,2020
Chili peppers infected with canker on Yun Myeong-ok’s farm in North Chungcheong Province. (Oh Yoon-ju)
When Yun Myeong-ok, 73, spoke with the Hankyoreh at his chili pepper farm in Cheongcheon Township, Goesan County, North Chungcheong Province, on Sept. 4, he was racking his brain about his debt.
“1,050 bags of compost cost 3.78 million won [US$3,202] five pesticide treatments cost 2.5 million won [US$2,118], 12 bags of seeds cost 210,000 won [US$178], 32 bags of fertilizer cost 320,000 won [US$271], the manure cost 320,000 won, and the plastic sheeting cost 280,000 won [US$237]. Not including wages for workers, I guess everything cost about 10 million won [US$8,472]. But as for farming — I think I’m going to have to quit,” Yun said.
Yun said he harvested 2,400 kilograms (kg) of chili peppers on his 4,000 square-meter farm last year. “I only managed to collect 96kg of peppers this year,” said Yun, as he chopped down mildewed chili pepper plants bearing sickly peppers.
“What with the canker and the rot, none of my peppers are usable. Crops can’t grow when you have more than 50 days of rain. Most of the farms around here are in a similar situation. It just breaks my heart.”
The main reason for the unprecedented paucity of this year’s harvest was the unusual frequency of rainfall this summer, taking the place of the heat. According to data from the agricultural measurement office at the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI), cumulative rainfall measured 716 millimeters (mm), well over double the amount in typical years (263mm).
The agricultural measurement office predicted that between 62,624 and 64,784 tons of chili peppers will be harvested on 31,146 hectares (ha) of farmland around the country. That’s 17.4-20.2% less than the 78,468 tons typically harvested on 30,883ha of land.
Lack of sunlight combined with continual torrential rains bring canker and blight
“The harvest appears to have fallen considerably because of poor conditions. The main chili pepper cultivation areas in North Chungcheong and North Gyeongsang Province only got half as much sunlight as they do in normal years, sunlight being essential for peppers to grow. On top of that, those areas had twice as much rain as normal, which brings canker and other forms of blight,” said Cho Nam-uk, a researcher at the agricultural measurement office.
Korea’s longest monsoon season in history, flash floods, and back-to-back typhoons have left the country’s croplands in disarray at the onset of fall. Farmers complain that this is the toughest year they’ve ever seen, and urban residents already battered by the COVID-19 outbreak now have to worry about the soaring price of produce in the runup to the Chuseok harvest festival, when Koreans typically prepare big feasts for family members.
Kim Gwang-su inspects fallen ears of rice ravished by Typhoon Maysak on Sept. 4 on his farm in South Jeolla Province. (Kim Yong-hee)
Kim Gwang-su, 60, cultivates an early variety of organic rice — which is harvested at the end of August — on a farm in Haenam, South Jeolla Province. “The grains of rice have to turn gold and be at least 90% full to get the normal price, but the rice from this harvest is only 80% full, is still green because it hasn’t fully ripened, and has a lot of blank grains mixed in. I expect the harvest this year will be about 10% lower than normal,” Kim complained.
“A 1,000 square-meter rice paddy typically produces 530kg of rice, but this year that production is likely to fall by 26.5kg,” predicted South Korea’s Rural Development Administration, which has surveyed the condition of rice cultivation seven times this year. Not only did the area of cultivated land decrease from 730,000ha last year to 726,000ha this year, but the average grains of rice per square meter has fallen from 34,005 in normal years to 33,841 because of the shortage of sunlight during the protracted monsoon season. Because most of Korea’s rice cultivation consists of varieties that are planted late and then harvested in September or October, farmers are still hopeful that a sunny September could give them an average harvest.
The situation isn’t any better for fruit farmers in Cheongsong County, North Gyeongsang Province, and in Naju, South Jeolla Province. Farmers report that the unusual weather has disrupted fruit setting and fostered pests and blight that have lowered the quality of the fruit that has managed to grow. The typhoons caused so much fruit to fall off trees that orchards are unlikely to cover their costs this year.
Poor harvests lead to steep prices for city dwellers ahead of Chuseok holiday
Whereas the poor harvest is a source of anxiety for farmers, city dwellers are worried about the rising cost of groceries. Price trends tracked by the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation and the Korea Rural Economic Institute show that the price of agricultural products including chili peppers, cucumbers, squash, apples, pears, and grapes have remained 25% higher than normal years for more than a month now.
Napa cabbages and daikon radishes, two of the most commonly used vegetables in Korean cuisine, cost nearly twice as much as they did last year. As of Sept. 13, 10kg of high-altitude napa cabbages cost 24,740 won (US$21), up 81.1% from 13,660 won (US$12) last year, while 20kg of high-altitude daikon radishes cost 25,480 won (US$22), up 96.0% from 13,000 won (US$11) last year. Four kilograms of young summer radishes sold for 11,640 won (US$10), an increase of 23.8% from 9,400 won (US$8) last year. A 10kg box of green chili peppers was going for 76,600 won (US$65), 24.5% more than 61,480 won (US$52) last year, while a box of red chili peppers was 54,840 won (US$47), 22.0% more than 44,920 won (US$38) last year. Dried chili peppers, which are sold in batches of 30kg, have doubled in price as customers jockey to secure an adequate supply before kimchi-making season. The scarcity of lettuce caused prices to double and even triple in mid-August; prices didn’t stop rising until about 10 days ago.
A farmer inspects apples that were blown off trees by typhoons in an orchard in North Gyeongsang Province. (Kim Il-woo, staff reporter)
When it comes to fruit, a 10kg box of Hongro apples cost 65,020 won (US$55), 68.9% higher than 38,480 won (US$33) last year, while a 15kg box of Wonhwang pears was 45,940 won (US$39), 60.6% higher than 28,600 won (US$24) last year. Meanwhile, a 20kg bag of regular rice was 50,780 won (US$43) on Monday, up 2.8% from 49,356 won (US$42) on the same day last year.
“When I visited my neighborhood supermarket last month, a 100g bag of lettuce was selling for 4,000 won [US$3.39]. It was shocking to see lettuce more expensive than pork belly. Since then, I’ve been getting by without lettuce — I don’t even look at it,” said a 20-something office worker in Seoul. Koreans often wrap slices of pork belly in lettuce before eating them.
“Because of COVID-19, I have to prepare three meals a day at home for my kids, and I’m stressed out by the rising cost of produce. A watermelon is 25,000 won [US$21], a napa cabbage is 10,000 won [US$8.47], a daikon radish is 4,000 won [US$3.39], a zucchini is 2,500 won [US$2.12], and a cucumber is 1,500 won [US$1.27]. I’m already afraid that we can’t afford all the groceries for Chuseok,” said a housewife in her 40s in Gwangju.
Even more troubling is the fact that this won’t be the last year when abnormal weather causes a poor harvest. “Given our records of temperature, wind, and precipitation, we’re going to see climate change bring more abnormal weather. We need to figure out what crops and areas are vulnerable to abnormal weather and make people aware of those issues; we also need to amend laws about disaster relief to shift from compensation to prevention,” advised Seong Jae-hoon, assistant director of the Korea Rural Economic Institute.
“Because more rice is produced than consumed, a poor harvest doesn’t have an immediate impact on prices. But as climate change accelerates, I’m worried about whether plant breeding and technological development will be effective in preparing for abnormal weather,” said Kang Seok-ju, a member of the food industry technology team at the Rural Development Administration.
By Ahn Kwan-ok, Gwangju correspondent, Oh Yoon-ju, Cheongju correspondent, and Kim Yong-hee, Gwangju correspondent
related stories
· [Column] We can’t wait any longer to eliminate fossil fuels and convert to renewables
· Six reactors shut down due to salinity during recent typhoons
· 96% of S. Koreans say COVID-19 and torrential rains made them aware of seriousness of climate change
· S. Koreans view environmental concerns as most important issue for future society
· Climate change radically alters S. Korea’s monsoon rains
Chili peppers infected with canker on Yun Myeong-ok’s farm in North Chungcheong Province. (Oh Yoon-ju)
When Yun Myeong-ok, 73, spoke with the Hankyoreh at his chili pepper farm in Cheongcheon Township, Goesan County, North Chungcheong Province, on Sept. 4, he was racking his brain about his debt.
“1,050 bags of compost cost 3.78 million won [US$3,202] five pesticide treatments cost 2.5 million won [US$2,118], 12 bags of seeds cost 210,000 won [US$178], 32 bags of fertilizer cost 320,000 won [US$271], the manure cost 320,000 won, and the plastic sheeting cost 280,000 won [US$237]. Not including wages for workers, I guess everything cost about 10 million won [US$8,472]. But as for farming — I think I’m going to have to quit,” Yun said.
Yun said he harvested 2,400 kilograms (kg) of chili peppers on his 4,000 square-meter farm last year. “I only managed to collect 96kg of peppers this year,” said Yun, as he chopped down mildewed chili pepper plants bearing sickly peppers.
“What with the canker and the rot, none of my peppers are usable. Crops can’t grow when you have more than 50 days of rain. Most of the farms around here are in a similar situation. It just breaks my heart.”
The main reason for the unprecedented paucity of this year’s harvest was the unusual frequency of rainfall this summer, taking the place of the heat. According to data from the agricultural measurement office at the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI), cumulative rainfall measured 716 millimeters (mm), well over double the amount in typical years (263mm).
The agricultural measurement office predicted that between 62,624 and 64,784 tons of chili peppers will be harvested on 31,146 hectares (ha) of farmland around the country. That’s 17.4-20.2% less than the 78,468 tons typically harvested on 30,883ha of land.
Lack of sunlight combined with continual torrential rains bring canker and blight
“The harvest appears to have fallen considerably because of poor conditions. The main chili pepper cultivation areas in North Chungcheong and North Gyeongsang Province only got half as much sunlight as they do in normal years, sunlight being essential for peppers to grow. On top of that, those areas had twice as much rain as normal, which brings canker and other forms of blight,” said Cho Nam-uk, a researcher at the agricultural measurement office.
Korea’s longest monsoon season in history, flash floods, and back-to-back typhoons have left the country’s croplands in disarray at the onset of fall. Farmers complain that this is the toughest year they’ve ever seen, and urban residents already battered by the COVID-19 outbreak now have to worry about the soaring price of produce in the runup to the Chuseok harvest festival, when Koreans typically prepare big feasts for family members.
Kim Gwang-su inspects fallen ears of rice ravished by Typhoon Maysak on Sept. 4 on his farm in South Jeolla Province. (Kim Yong-hee)
Kim Gwang-su, 60, cultivates an early variety of organic rice — which is harvested at the end of August — on a farm in Haenam, South Jeolla Province. “The grains of rice have to turn gold and be at least 90% full to get the normal price, but the rice from this harvest is only 80% full, is still green because it hasn’t fully ripened, and has a lot of blank grains mixed in. I expect the harvest this year will be about 10% lower than normal,” Kim complained.
“A 1,000 square-meter rice paddy typically produces 530kg of rice, but this year that production is likely to fall by 26.5kg,” predicted South Korea’s Rural Development Administration, which has surveyed the condition of rice cultivation seven times this year. Not only did the area of cultivated land decrease from 730,000ha last year to 726,000ha this year, but the average grains of rice per square meter has fallen from 34,005 in normal years to 33,841 because of the shortage of sunlight during the protracted monsoon season. Because most of Korea’s rice cultivation consists of varieties that are planted late and then harvested in September or October, farmers are still hopeful that a sunny September could give them an average harvest.
The situation isn’t any better for fruit farmers in Cheongsong County, North Gyeongsang Province, and in Naju, South Jeolla Province. Farmers report that the unusual weather has disrupted fruit setting and fostered pests and blight that have lowered the quality of the fruit that has managed to grow. The typhoons caused so much fruit to fall off trees that orchards are unlikely to cover their costs this year.
Poor harvests lead to steep prices for city dwellers ahead of Chuseok holiday
Whereas the poor harvest is a source of anxiety for farmers, city dwellers are worried about the rising cost of groceries. Price trends tracked by the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation and the Korea Rural Economic Institute show that the price of agricultural products including chili peppers, cucumbers, squash, apples, pears, and grapes have remained 25% higher than normal years for more than a month now.
Napa cabbages and daikon radishes, two of the most commonly used vegetables in Korean cuisine, cost nearly twice as much as they did last year. As of Sept. 13, 10kg of high-altitude napa cabbages cost 24,740 won (US$21), up 81.1% from 13,660 won (US$12) last year, while 20kg of high-altitude daikon radishes cost 25,480 won (US$22), up 96.0% from 13,000 won (US$11) last year. Four kilograms of young summer radishes sold for 11,640 won (US$10), an increase of 23.8% from 9,400 won (US$8) last year. A 10kg box of green chili peppers was going for 76,600 won (US$65), 24.5% more than 61,480 won (US$52) last year, while a box of red chili peppers was 54,840 won (US$47), 22.0% more than 44,920 won (US$38) last year. Dried chili peppers, which are sold in batches of 30kg, have doubled in price as customers jockey to secure an adequate supply before kimchi-making season. The scarcity of lettuce caused prices to double and even triple in mid-August; prices didn’t stop rising until about 10 days ago.
A farmer inspects apples that were blown off trees by typhoons in an orchard in North Gyeongsang Province. (Kim Il-woo, staff reporter)
When it comes to fruit, a 10kg box of Hongro apples cost 65,020 won (US$55), 68.9% higher than 38,480 won (US$33) last year, while a 15kg box of Wonhwang pears was 45,940 won (US$39), 60.6% higher than 28,600 won (US$24) last year. Meanwhile, a 20kg bag of regular rice was 50,780 won (US$43) on Monday, up 2.8% from 49,356 won (US$42) on the same day last year.
“When I visited my neighborhood supermarket last month, a 100g bag of lettuce was selling for 4,000 won [US$3.39]. It was shocking to see lettuce more expensive than pork belly. Since then, I’ve been getting by without lettuce — I don’t even look at it,” said a 20-something office worker in Seoul. Koreans often wrap slices of pork belly in lettuce before eating them.
“Because of COVID-19, I have to prepare three meals a day at home for my kids, and I’m stressed out by the rising cost of produce. A watermelon is 25,000 won [US$21], a napa cabbage is 10,000 won [US$8.47], a daikon radish is 4,000 won [US$3.39], a zucchini is 2,500 won [US$2.12], and a cucumber is 1,500 won [US$1.27]. I’m already afraid that we can’t afford all the groceries for Chuseok,” said a housewife in her 40s in Gwangju.
Even more troubling is the fact that this won’t be the last year when abnormal weather causes a poor harvest. “Given our records of temperature, wind, and precipitation, we’re going to see climate change bring more abnormal weather. We need to figure out what crops and areas are vulnerable to abnormal weather and make people aware of those issues; we also need to amend laws about disaster relief to shift from compensation to prevention,” advised Seong Jae-hoon, assistant director of the Korea Rural Economic Institute.
“Because more rice is produced than consumed, a poor harvest doesn’t have an immediate impact on prices. But as climate change accelerates, I’m worried about whether plant breeding and technological development will be effective in preparing for abnormal weather,” said Kang Seok-ju, a member of the food industry technology team at the Rural Development Administration.
By Ahn Kwan-ok, Gwangju correspondent, Oh Yoon-ju, Cheongju correspondent, and Kim Yong-hee, Gwangju correspondent
related stories
· [Column] We can’t wait any longer to eliminate fossil fuels and convert to renewables
· Six reactors shut down due to salinity during recent typhoons
· 96% of S. Koreans say COVID-19 and torrential rains made them aware of seriousness of climate change
· S. Koreans view environmental concerns as most important issue for future society
· Climate change radically alters S. Korea’s monsoon rains
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