[Visiting the site of revitalizing domestic herbal medicines] "Taksa" can only be encountered through human hands ··· Task of enhancing competitiveness against low-cost Chinese products

[Korea Farmers' News Agency, Agricultural and Food Specialist Reporter Moon Gwang-woon] Labor shortage leads to reduced planting area Crisis looms as imports increase Excluded from supply and demand control items Calls for allowing 'food use' to boost processing Voices for developing planters and harvesters Suncheon City, Hae-ryong Township, the largest domestic production area for Chinese water plantain, is currently in the midst of harvest preparations. The stems and leaves of the Chinese water plantain are withering, marking the time for extraction. Chinese water plantain is mainly cultivated in paddy fields with water. After harvesting single-crop rice, seedlings are planted in August. After the leaves begin to wither due to frost, the water at the bottom is drained and dried, and then harvested from early December to January. However, as a labor-intensive crop where all work must be done by hand, it is facing a crisis of collapsing production base. Kim Jin-soo (66), the ...