Experience Urban Farming in the City! ... BPA and 8 Other Public Institutions Open 'Smart Farm 4' Urban Agriculture Facility
Published 19 Apr.2022 18:52(KST)
Updated 10 Aug.2025 11:34(KST)
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Busan Port Authority (BPA) and nine public institutions in the Busan area opened the 4th branch of the ‘BEF Smart Farm’ through the ‘Busan Social Economy Support Fund (BEF)’.
The participating institutions are Korea Technology Finance Corporation, Busan Urban Corporation, Busan Port Authority, Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation, Korea Southern Power, Korea Securities Depository, Korea Asset Management Corporation, Korea Housing Finance Corporation, and Korea Ocean Business Corporation.
Following the openings of the 2nd and 3rd branches of the ‘BEF Smart Farm’ in February and April, support was provided to open the 4th branch in an unused space within the ‘Busan Dream Regional Children’s Center’ located in Sasang-gu, Busan.
The ‘BEF Smart Farm’ is a social urban agriculture facility that utilizes information and communication technology (ICT) throughout the entire process of agricultural production, processing, and distribution.
The 4th branch employs eco-friendly ‘aquaponics’ technology that cultivates fish and vegetables together, and plans to produce organic crops by introducing an antibiotic-free filtration system.
At the 4th branch, experiential education programs for infants and young children in the Busan area will also be additionally operated to promote regional coexistence.
The nine public institutions in the Busan area, including Korea Asset Management Corporation, expect to promote eco-friendly production and distribution structures based on smart farms and create employment opportunities for socially vulnerable groups by expanding the spread of smart agriculture within the local community through BEF.
Kang Jun-seok, president of BPA, said, “With the successive openings of smart farms, not only will the fostering of social enterprises and the revitalization of the local economy be achieved, but we will also continue to collaborate with local public institutions to expand opportunities for local residents to easily access agricultural facilities and find healing in the city.”
The nine public institutions in the Busan area, including Korea Asset Management Corporation, are actively supporting social economy enterprises in the Busan area through BEF fund management of 1.45 billion won this year, providing financial support, management consulting, talent development, and market support.
‘BEF’ stands for Busan Embracement Fund for Social Economic Development and is a fund established by nine public institutions in the Busan area to support the sustainable growth of social economy enterprises.
The fund is entrusted and operated by the Social Enterprise Research Institute, a non-profit corporation.
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