South Korea creates 4,300 jobs in smart farm industry

According to Korea Bizwire, the South Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs revealed measures to attract young workers into smart farming by providing training courses and building large-scale smart farm complexes.

Smart farming in South Korea

Smart farming brings information and communications technology to greenhouses and livestock farms and allows farmers to remotely control the growing environment of crops and animals through smartphones and computers.

A total of 4 smart farming innovation valleys will be built across the country by 2022, multi-purpose venues consisting of a training centre, smart farms for rent, and a test site. Photo: South Korean Ministry of Agriculture

The latest announcement focuses on creating innovation models under which young entrepreneurs and farmers will be trained and other related businesses will be supported. A total of 4 smart farming innovation valleys will be built across the country by 2022, multi-purpose venues consisting of a training centre, smart farms for rent, and a test site.

Training courses will be available from next year and will last for 20 months, with plans to create 600 professionals by 2022.

Government subsidies

In addition, young farmers who complete the courses will be given government subsidies to open a smart farming business on 30 hectares of land that will be allotted to them, while agricultural loans at lower interest rates will be available for both new and experienced farmers. Plans to build a smart farm test site are also underway, where research projects, exhibitions and tests will take place to help enhance the competitiveness of South Korean smart farms.

Through joint efforts between research institutes and companies, the government is poised to establish South Korea’s own Priva, a Dutch company that produces the world’s highest quality climate control systems. The agriculture ministry is hopeful that the move will help create more than 4,300 jobs over the next few years in the burgeoning smart farming industry.