Statistics Korea said Wednesday that 754-thousand-785 hectares of land was used to grow rice this year, down three-point-one percent from last year.
 
The decrease was apparently due to the government’s policy to reduce rice-growing areas following a drop in rice prices.
 
South Jeolla Province had the largest area of rice cultivation with some 162-thousand hectares followed by South Chungcheong Province and North Jeolla Province.
 
The agency also found that land used to grow red pepper decreased 12 percent from 32-thousand hectares last year.
The lack of workforce resulting from the aging farming population and droughts are apparently what resulted in the decrease in such land.