[New Year's Address] Park Byung-hong, Administrator of Rural Development Administration, "Focused Cultivation of Specialized Crops According to Conditions... Revitalizing Regional Agriculture"

"Improvement of Cultivation and Production Technologies → Industrialization and Consumption Expansion... Focus on Increasing Farm Income"

Park Byung-hong, Administrator of the Rural Development Administration. (Photo by Rural Development Administration)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Park Byunghong, Administrator of the Rural Development Administration, stated in his New Year's address on the 30th that "to revitalize regional agriculture, we will select and intensively nurture region-specific specialty crops."

Administrator Park said, "We will develop products linking 'stable cultivation, processing, and experience' tailored to each region and foster them as regional specialty products," emphasizing, "We will shift our focus from variety development, cultivation, and production technology to policies aimed at industrialization and expanding consumption to increase farmers' income."

He also pledged efforts to promote digital agricultural technologies incorporating the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. He added, "Using agricultural data obtained through standardization and quality control, we will develop optimal artificial intelligence models applicable at each growth stage of crops and disseminate technologies for the intelligence of open-field agriculture, which occupies most farmland."

Furthermore, he introduced plans to nurture young farmers to resolve rural labor shortages and expand the development of field agriculture machinery. Administrator Park said, "We will establish a support system covering the entire cycle from the technology startup stage to settling in the farming field for young farmers," adding, "At the same time, we will develop autonomous driving-based agricultural machinery to reduce labor and increase productivity."

In addition, he mentioned accelerating the implementation of carbon neutrality in agriculture by developing carbon emission reduction technologies such as low-methane feed and enhancing prediction and warning technologies to reduce damage caused by climate change. Administrator Park stated, "The Rural Development Administration will mark its 60th anniversary next year," and added, "All public officials at the Rural Development Administration will take this as an opportunity for a new leap forward, proudly opening the future of agriculture."

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