On Ishigaki Island, which is known as one of the leading rice fields in Okinawa Prefecture, rice planting has already begun due to the warm climate.
In the Yaeyama region, including Ishigaki Island, two-stage crops are actively carried out, in which rice is harvested twice a year, taking advantage of the warm climate.
On the 26th, rice planting began earliest on the island in the Sakieda district of Ishigaki Island, and farmer Eitaro Ohama planted seedlings that had grown to about 15 cm one after another with a rice transplanter.
If it grows well, it will be harvested from the middle of May and shipped to the market as "ultra-early rice" about three months earlier than new rice from other production areas.
Mr. Ohama said, "I was worried that it would be cold during the seedling growing season, but after that, the fine weather continued and good seedlings were produced. ..