Observing My Rice Paddies and Fields from Space… Countdown Begins for Korea’s First ‘Agriculture and Forestry Satellite’

Korean agriculture is taking its first step toward ‘data-driven scientific agricultural policy’ that seeks answers beyond the sky, in space.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs(Minister Song Mi-ryeong) announced that Korea’s first independently developed agriculture-and-forestry-specialized satellite, ‘Agriculture and Forestry Satellite(Next-Generation Mid-Sized Satellite No. 4)’, jointly developed with the Korea AeroSpace Administration, the Rural Development Administration, and the Korea Forest Service, will be launched on the 7th at 16: 10 p.m.(Korea time) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in the United States aboard SpaceX(SPACE-X)’s ‘Falcon9(Falcon-9)’ launch vehicle.
As the first state-launched satellite in the agriculture·and forestry sectors, this launch is expected to become a watershed moment, shifting the nation’s public observation infrastructure—long dependent on foreign satellite imagery—to domestically developed independent technology and advancing data collection·and analysis systems across agricultural policy.

Scanning the entire Korean Peninsula every 3 days… examining farmland in detail with a ‘5m grid’
The Agriculture and Forestry Satellite being launched this time boasts precise observation specifications optimized for Korea’s agricultural and forestry structure.
With a spatial resolution of 5m , it can acquire data in 5mX5m grid units on the ground. It is not at the ultra-high-definition shape level of aerial photos on portal sites, but it is expected to extract detailed data values for each parcel.

It also has an observation swath of 120km, allowing it to capture wide areas at once, regularly updating imagery of the entire Korean Peninsula every 3 days, and it carries 5 spectral bands specialized for identifying the growth of crops and forest resources, enabling scientific analysis of plant health.
 

The ministry plans to actively respond to key policy needs using this satellite data, including △surveys of farmland use and checks on compliance with the public direct payment system △adjustment of agricultural product supply and demand and provision of cultivation guidelines △management of agricultural water·and infrastructure, as well as disaster response for wildfires·and landslides △and monitoring of rural spatial information.

In particular, it is expected to dramatically reduce the manpower and cost of field surveys. AI can match satellite images with farm map information to enable constant non-face-to-face monitoring of uncultivated land, facilities, and forest land, helping achieve both prevention of fraudulent subsidies and greater administrative efficiency.
 

Expected changes in the use of official national data and improved farm productivity
It is expected that data collected by the Agriculture and Forestry Satellite may be available for use as early as 2027. So what tangible economic benefits(ROI) will actual farms and ag-tech(Ag-Tech) companies feel? In a phone interview with this newspaper, Hong Seok-young, head of the Agricultural Satellite Center at the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences under the Rural Development Administration, explained the on-site changes the satellite will bring.

Director Hong said, “From the farmer’s perspective, rather than feeling dramatic changes immediately, they will feel the real benefits as data accumulates year by year”, adding, “because they will be able to view time-series sets of ‘vegetation index images’ showing the growth status of their own plots through satellite imagery provided by the state”.

He continued, “They will be able to understand the general trend of how the growth condition of their rice paddies and fields compares this year with last year”, adding, “because farmers themselves know best what crops they planted this year and how they managed them last year, combining that with satellite data will create a ‘field education effect’ that feeds back the results of growth management”.

Companies, too, will encounter new business opportunities. The government plans to actively support the private sector so it can develop a ‘Korean-style independent agricultural artificial intelligence(AI) foundation model’ by combining satellite imagery reflecting the characteristics of farmland nationwide with major crop information and weather·and soil data. As satellite outputs are opened sequentially, the high-value-added ag-tech service ecosystem—such as unmanned autonomous farm work and precision pest-control guidelines—is expected to become more active.

Director Hong said, “Because the state officially provides data that companies can use, businesses will also be able to feel the effects of the Agriculture and Forestry Satellite”.