Smart farms to boost agricultural productivity

An artist's impression of the Smart Farm Innovation Valley / Courtesy of Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

This article is a joint project by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and The Korea Times. _ Ed.

By Nam Hyun-woo

The government is enhancing its efforts to help more domestic farms embrace info-tech, in a bid to offer a breakthrough in Korea's slowing and graying agricultural industry.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the growth momentum of Korea's agricultural industry has been weakening amid slowing productivity, an aging workforce and uncertainties in supply and demand.

The country's real GDP in agriculture ended up growing 4.8 percent to 28.4 trillion won ($24.8 billion) in 2016 from 27.1 trillion won ($23.7 billion) in 2007.

During the same period, domestic farms' average income from growing crops declined by 3.2 percent to 10.07 million won from 10.40 million won.

To address the problem, the ministry has been providing aid and support programs on expanding smart farms, which have facilities to control the growing environment for crops and livestock automatically and remotely.

For example, a farmer can monitor the temperature, humidity and CO2 levels in a greenhouse by smartphone or PC and control the environment and nutrition levels with clicks and taps.

The government has been implementing its smart farm policy since 2014 and managed to expand the gross area of the country's smart farms from 4.05 square kilometers in 2014 to 40.1 square kilometers in 2017. The ministry said, however, its previous policy focused on providing smart farm facilities to individual farms and had its limits when it came to enhancing the competitiveness of the entire agriculture industry.

The ministry made a major update in its smart farm policy last year and shifted the policy's focus from distributing smart farm facilities to nurturing young farmers and building a “Silicon Valley of smart farming.”

In the updated policy, the ministry plans to set up four “Smart Farm Innovation Valleys” across the country. It selected Sangju in North Gyeongsang Province and Gimje in North Jeolla Province as the first two locations last year and recently added Miryang in South Gyeongsang Province and Goheung County in South Jeolla Province.

The cities will house agricultural complexes with smart farms, farming startup incubating centers and other supporting facilities. At least 64 billion won will be poured into each complex and they will be larger than 200,000 square meters.

At the incubating centers, the ministry will provide education programs to nurture at least 500 smart farm specialists by 2022. More than 60 have already finished the program as of last year.

Also, the ministry plans to set up rental smart farms covering a total of 0.3 square kilometers, so that more young farmers can establish their own smart farm without huge investments.

“With the policy, the government seeks to expand the gross area of smart farms from 40.1 square kilometers in 2017 to 70 square kilometers by 2022,” a ministry official said.

Exporting smart farm tech

One of the smart farms showing noticeable growth is Manna CEA. The farm, based in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, was founded by six KAIST students and graduates in 2013. They developed their own greenhouse environmental control system and other hydroponics technologies aimed at maximizing a firm's productivity.

Manna CEA is now an 80-employee firm exporting smart farm technologies to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other Middle Eastern countries. It garnered 22.8 billion won in investments from multiple investment companies.

Another smart farm success case is Poongil piggery in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. The farm introduced smart farm facilities in 2014 capable of monitoring the situation inside the pigpen via a PC or smartphone. Also, data on temperature, humidity and feeding are automatically logged on the farm's server, which helps farmers to prevent diseases.

After the introduction of the facilities, Poongil piggery's marketed pigs per sow per year grew by 5 percent and its feed cost also declined by 8.8 percent.