Hamyang-gun Secures 1.6 Billion KRW in National Funding for Open-Field Smart Agriculture Pilot Project

Hamyang Handeul Area Onion Cultivation over 40ha
Total Project Cost of 4 Billion KRW Invested over 2 Years

Hamyang-gun, Gyeongnam Province, announced on the 6th that it has been selected for the open-field smart technology convergence demonstration model expansion pilot project promoted by the Rural Development Administration next year.

Accordingly, the county secured 1.6 billion KRW in national funds for two years starting in 2025, and will invest a total of 4 billion KRW in the project, including data collection, unmanned pest control, and smart agricultural machinery to advance smart agriculture for its main crop, onions.

Panoramic view of Handeul, Hamyang-eup, Hamyang-gun.

Last December, the Rural Development Administration and nine cities and counties signed a business agreement to establish an open-field smart agriculture model and spread technology. Starting this year, pilot zones were designated for nine crops, and through a nationwide competition this year, three cities and counties (Hamyang onions, Sinan green onions, Yeongcheon peaches) were selected.

Hamyang-gun received high evaluations in the project feasibility assessment for its consolidated fields, seedling technology, autonomous driving input technologies, economic efficiency, collaborative organization with the Rural Development Administration and research institutes, selection as an open-field smart agriculture pilot zone in 2024, the integrated mechanization project for the main production area initiated in 2022, and the agricultural robot demonstration support project in 2023, which have well established the foundation for mechanization of field crops and smart agriculture.

The county plans to actively develop and introduce smart machinery and technology for onions, focusing on enhancing the precision, safety, and efficiency of farming operations from sowing to harvest by operating smart agricultural machinery that includes a communal seedling nursery, smart irrigation system, growth and environmental data collection through drone surveillance, unmanned pest control drones, and automatic driving technology for agricultural machinery across approximately 40 hectares of onion cultivation area in the Hamyang Handeul region.

A county official said, “Hamyang-gun was the first in the nation to develop and distribute a fully mechanized model for all processes of onion cultivation. Through the selection for this project, we aim to take a step further into smart agriculture,” adding, “Through the new paradigm of open-field smart agriculture, Hamyang-gun will faithfully fulfill its role as a hub city for smart agriculture to solve the difficulties of the rural economy.”

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