Agriculture’s AX transformation gains momentum… ‘2026 Agricultural Technology Expo’ to spotlight future agtech trends

[Korea Agricultural Technology Newspaper = Reporter Lee Hyun-woo] The nation’s largest agricultural technology festival, where visitors can see at a glance the current state of convergence between artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced agricultural technologies that will transform the future of farming, is set to open. The Rural Development Administration (Administrator Lee Seung-don) announced that it will hold the ‘2026 Agricultural Technology Expo’ for three days from June 18 to 20 at OSCO in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, under the theme ‘AI Convergence, Giving Wings to Agricultural Innovation.’ The expo has been organized to demonstrate the achievements of integrating AI technology with agricultural research and development (R&D) amid the structural crises facing rural communities—climate change and population decline—and to present a vision for the future of sustainable agriculture.

▲Intelligent agricultural sites led by ‘AI Isaki’ and ‘Saessaki’=The key star of this year’s expo is ‘artificial intelligence (AI).’ At the ‘AI Theme Hall,’ ambitiously presented by the Rural Development Administration, visitors will be able to directly experience ‘AI Isaki,’ an AI conversational robot specialized in agriculture. AI Isaki serves as a smart guide by sharing real-time technical support cases with farmers on site and providing customized variety information and advanced market outlook data. Alongside this, ‘AI Saessaki,’ a research support AI introduced to maximize researchers’ R&D efficiency, will also be introduced in detail on site for the first time.

At the ‘Agricultural R&D Hall,’ a wide range of technologies targeting the issues of declining farm population and aging will be exhibited. This space, organized around three pillars—field-centered, future-responsive, and balanced growth—will feature wearable exoskeleton equipment for farmer safety, field-crop mechanization technologies that can dramatically reduce labor, weather disaster response systems, and agricultural robots. In addition, concrete alternatives for achieving carbon neutrality, such as low-carbon and eco-friendly agricultural technologies and climate-adaptive new varieties, will also be presented.

▲From region-specific R&D to a space agriculture academic conference… a venue for knowledge and business=The efforts of local governments responding to the crisis of regional extinction also stand out. At the ‘Regional R&D Hall,’ agricultural research and extension services from nine provinces nationwide—including Gyeonggi, Gangwon, North Chungcheong, South Chungcheong, North Jeolla, South Jeolla, North Gyeongsang, South Gyeongsang, and Jeju—will participate to share the status of smart farm research by region and achievements in fostering regionally specialized crops.

Related institutions are also actively participating. The Korea Institute of Agricultural Technology Promotion will showcase achievements in transferring excellent technologies to the private sector and innovative products that have succeeded in commercialization, while the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will also exhibit the growth stories of agtech companies supported through policy measures.

Academic events and distinctive side programs sharing future business insights for the agricultural industry will also be abundantly prepared. On the 18th, the opening day, the ‘Future Agricultural Technology Outlook Conference,’ which analyzes global megatrends across three divisions—intelligent and automation, advanced green bio, and sustainable agriculture—will be held, and an ‘MOU on the use of AI and agricultural data’ between the Rural Development Administration and Daedong Co., Ltd. will also be signed.

Then on the 19th, the ‘International Symposium on Agricultural Robots for Agricultural AX Transformation,’ which explores development directions for applying physical AI to agricultural robots, and the ‘Space Agriculture Symposium,’ which discusses crop production technologies in extreme environments such as space and Antarctica, will be held in succession to share global research trends. In addition, a variety of specialized events, including the ‘Insect Food Biennale,’ where products related to edible insects compete, and the ‘Agri-food Hidden Tech Briefing,’ introducing promising patented technologies, are expected to capture visitors’ attention.

In addition, a variety of hands-on programs and an agriculture quiz show will continue for three days for general visitors and young farmers to enjoy, including banana DNA extraction, red bean gochujang making, plant virus diagnosis, and virtual reality (VR) tractor driving experiences, and anyone interested may participate free of charge.