The Transition Committee Reports on Rural Development Administration Tasks... Discussing Measures to Improve Food Self-Sufficiency Rate

Transition Team: "Need to Establish a Private-Led Innovation Ecosystem"

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is leaving the transition committee office set up at the Financial Supervisory Service Training Institute in Tongui-dong, Seoul, on the 28th./Photo by Transition Committee Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] On the 28th, the Economic Subcommittee 2 of the Presidential Transition Committee received a briefing from the Rural Development Administration (RDA) and discussed measures to improve the food self-sufficiency rate.

The briefing was conducted in order to review the current issues facing the agricultural sector, followed by examining major national tasks to be promoted by the new government in connection with the fulfillment of campaign promises and the president-elect’s pledges.

Present at the meeting were Lee Chang-yang, the secretary, along with Economic Subcommittee 2 members Wang Yoon-jong, Yoo Woong-hwan, and Ko San, experts and working-level members in the agriculture, forestry, livestock, and food sectors, experts and working-level members from the Planning and Coordination Subcommittee, as well as the deputy administrator and directors of the RDA.

The Transition Committee evaluated the general status and key policies of the RDA over the past five years, and the RDA agreed to select national tasks in the agriculture, forestry, livestock, and food sectors reflecting the national philosophy and campaign promises, and to develop implementation plans accordingly.

To achieve sustainable agriculture and improve the food self-sufficiency rate, the RDA proposed △support for technology startups by young farmers △development and expanded distribution of domestic varieties to enhance food self-sufficiency △development of data-driven digital agriculture technologies.

Additionally, for realizing carbon-neutral agriculture, they reported on △development of national unique coefficients for estimating greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural sector △development of methane-reducing feed for livestock △development and dissemination of greenhouse gas reduction technologies such as soil carbon storage technology.

Furthermore, they discussed △collection of rural spatial data and development of living area diagnostic standards and indicators △technical support measures for the safety and welfare of women farmers, including the development of small agricultural machinery that women farmers can easily operate.

After receiving the RDA’s briefing, the transition committee members emphasized, “Efforts for objective inspection and evaluation are necessary so that the value of R&D results in the agricultural sector is recognized and contributes to productivity improvement. It is also essential to raise the level through joint research with internationally competent institutions.” They added, “It is important that R&D, seed breeding, mechanization, and automation in agriculture move away from government-led initiatives to private sector leadership, creating an innovation ecosystem.”

They also urged, “R&D and technical support focused on the primary industry should be connected to the secondary and tertiary industries to increase the added value of agriculture and foster ventures from a value chain perspective. Much of the research data held by the RDA should be opened to contribute to agricultural innovation, and the API method should be actively utilized.”

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