Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yoon-chul: "Smart Farm Governance Must Be Established Through National and Local Government Collaboration"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Koo Yoon-chul, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, emphasized on the 31st, "It is necessary to properly establish the Innovation Valleys through verified equipment utilization, thorough design and construction," and added, "To effectively operate the four Innovation Valleys with differentiated roles, governance must be established through collaboration among the central government, local governments, and specialized institutions."

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance announced that Vice Minister Koo held a video conference on the Smart Farm Innovation Valleys with related agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Rural Development Administration, local governments including Jeollabuk-do, Jeollanam-do, and Gyeongsangnam-do, research institutes such as the Korea Rural Economic Institute and the Science and Technology Policy Institute, as well as private experts. Smart Farm refers to the integration of 4th Industrial Revolution technologies such as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and big data into agriculture to improve productivity and enhance the quality of agricultural products.

The Smart Farm Innovation Valleys were selected to be established in four locations nationwide over two years from 2018 to 2019. The total project cost is estimated at 340.6 billion KRW. Gimje-si, Jeonbuk (21.3 hectares) and Sangju-si, Gyeongbuk (42.7 hectares) were selected in August 2018 (1st phase), while Goheung-gun, Jeonnam (33.3 hectares) and Miryang-si, Gyeongnam (22.1 hectares) were selected in April last year (2nd phase).

He continued, "We must monitor the entire process including land and financial support, employment, and independence so that young farmers trained in the valleys can develop into leading smart farm farmers, and create necessary measures," adding, "Through systematic export support from product selection to buyer discovery, this should become an opportunity to revitalize our agricultural and food exports."

Meanwhile, the government plans to prepare a smart farm dissemination plan centered on the Smart Farm Innovation Valleys by May and include it in next year’s budget proposal.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.