Do You Know 'Railfarm'? Smart Farmers Grow Vegetables in Vertical Farms

Busan Agricultural Technology Center Begins Dissemination of Vertical Farm Technology Applying Advanced Agricultural Techniques

‘Rail Farm’ Established at Geoje Haemaji Station on Donghae Nambu Line with IoT Application

Stable Production, 90

Rail Farm implementing advanced smart farming methods.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Do you know about ‘Rail Farm’?

The Busan Agricultural Technology Center has established a vertical farm applying advanced agricultural technology in the unused space within Geojehaemaji Station on the Donghae Nambu Line.

A vertical farm is an apartment-style farm that grows crops suitable for hydroponic cultivation. It is mainly called a ‘Smart Farm’ because it applies science-based agriculture using information and communication technology.

Due to the neat appearance of the farm and the introduction of smart farms in leftover or idle spaces of railway or subway stations, it is also called a ‘Rail Farm’.

All growth environments necessary for crops such as light, air, heat, and nutrients are artificially controlled through advanced agricultural technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT).

This reduces the labor input required for farm management and allows stable year-round agricultural production unaffected by external weather conditions. It is an all-weather farm.

The newly established ‘Rail Farm’ is a pilot project for the ‘Standardized Vertical Farm Establishment’ promoted by the Agricultural Technology Center.

It was started to analyze the failure factors of vertical farms that had not been activated due to unstable technology issues and inexperienced management and sales strategies, and to create a successful operation case.

The Agricultural Technology Center plans to provide vertical farm operation technology and information to citizens through this.

The ‘Rail Farm,’ which occupies about 33 square meters of unused station space and is equipped with modular vertical farms as well as washing and processing facilities for sales, applies advanced agricultural technologies such as hydroponic cultivation facilities, LED artificial lighting, air conditioning systems, and integrated environmental control devices.

It consists of a cultivation room for growing crops and a nursery room for seedling production. More than 10 times a year, leafy vegetables for salads can be cultivated, producing 480 plants (48 kg) per cultivation cycle. The estimated annual income is approximately 21.06 million KRW.

Kim Jeong-guk, director of the Agricultural Technology Center, said, “We expect to reduce more than 90% of the labor input compared to traditional methods with the vertical farm ‘Rail Farm’ applying advanced agricultural technology.”

Director Kim added, “We will create a successful operation case that overcomes the failure factors of vertical farms and provide correct technology and information to farmers and citizens who want to operate vertical farms.”

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