Korea to build smart farm in Saudi Arabia before year's end

This photo shows a groundbreaking ceremony for a Korean-style smart farm in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, April 21. Yonhap

A Korean consortium will construct a smart farm in Saudi Arabia by December for pilot operation, Seoul's agriculture ministry said Tuesday.

The 2,000-square-meter smart farm will be built in Riyadh and utilize various agricultural technologies, including advanced farming robots and environmental control solutions, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

It will mark the fourth smart farm the Korean consortium will build overseas, following ones in Kazakhstan, Vietnam and Australia.

The consortium is comprised of four Korean companies, including Nongshim and KS Farm.

The ministry said it will work to export more Korean-style smart farms to the Middle East, noting that the region accounted for 60 percent of Seoul's smart farm construction deals over the past two years.