RDA's Budget for Next Year 1.2547 Trillion Won...Fostering Promising Export Items

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] The Rural Development Administration's budget for next year has been finalized at 1.2547 trillion won. This figure represents a 5.5% increase compared to this year, surpassing the national overall budget growth rate of 5.1%. The funds will be used by the Rural Development Administration to support the implementation of national tasks such as securing food sovereignty and industrializing agriculture as a future growth industry.

The Rural Development Administration's budget has grown every year, from 940.5 billion won in 2019 to surpassing 1 trillion won for the first time in 2020, then 1.0961 trillion won in 2021, and 1.1893 trillion won in 2022.

The major budget allocations for next year across six sectors are as follows: 134.3 billion won to support securing food sovereignty by improving self-sufficiency rates of wheat, soybeans, and rice flour; 157.5 billion won for the dissemination of stable production technologies for agricultural and livestock products; 238.4 billion won for future growth industrialization of agriculture through new technology development utilizing smart agriculture technologies, carbon neutrality, and green bio; 374.5 billion won to strengthen support for solving on-site agricultural industry issues; 107.3 billion won to revitalize agriculture, rural areas, and regional agriculture; and 55.4 billion won for the global expansion of Korean agricultural technology. In particular, 58.3 billion won has been allocated to address current issues such as rural aging, population decline, climate change, and rising international grain prices, with 21 new projects being launched.

During the National Assembly budget review process, an additional 2.2 billion won was allocated to five projects, including the establishment of the Cruciferous Vegetable Research Institute (600 million won, new), the Fruit Digital Agriculture Demonstration Research Institute (800 million won, new), the National Melon Research Institute (200 million won, new), and the technology dissemination blending cooperation model (500 million won, additional). The Cruciferous Vegetable Research Institute will be constructed from next year through 2026 in the Muan-eup area of Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do (200,418 square meters), with a total investment of 34.5 billion won. The Fruit Digital Agriculture Demonstration Research Institute, which will lead the digitalization of fruit farms, will be built from next year through 2026 in the Dongryang-myeon area of Chungju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do (200,730 square meters), with a total investment of 42 billion won.

Additionally, to strengthen the resolution of common issues through continental-level consultative bodies and to expand the overseas advancement of Korean agricultural products, promising export items will be focused on for development. To this end, new projects include ▲International Agricultural Research and Development (R&D) Initiative Cooperation (1 billion won) and ▲Technology Development to Strengthen Export Agricultural Competitiveness in Response to Multilateral Free Trade Agreements (4.1 billion won). Cho Jaeho, Administrator of the Rural Development Administration, emphasized, "We will actively promote R&D that can strengthen food security and accelerate the industrialization of agriculture as a future growth industry to support the implementation of national tasks."

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