From Rice Paddies to Fields, From Engines to Batteries… A ‘Great Upheaval’ in the Agricultural Machinery Market

[Korea Agricultural Technology Newspaper = Reporter Lee Hyun-woo] The landscape of South Korea’s rural fields is changing rapidly. While power tillers and rice transplanters, once essential items owned by nearly every farm household, are leaving the paddies, their place is being filled by field-crop cultivators, eco-friendly electric agricultural machinery, and advanced pest-control drones. As structural changes such as the reduction of rice cultivation area intersect with the real-world crises of rural aging and labor shortages, South Korea’s agricultural machinery market has entered a major paradigm shift centered on ‘field farming’ and ‘eco-friendly electrification.’

According to the ‘2025 Agricultural Machinery Ownership Status Survey Results’ announced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on June 24, the total number of 16 major types of agricultural machinery held domestically as of December 1 last year was tallied at 1.983 million units, up 0.2% from the previous year.

On the surface, the figures may appear stagnant, but a closer look by machine type confirms a clear market reshuffle. The most notable point is the overall decline of paddy farming machinery and the continued growth of field farming machinery. Due to the government’s policy of reducing rice cultivation area and the effects of larger-scale and more collective farming operations, power tillers, once a symbol of rural life, fell 1.7% (8,558 units) year on year, while rice transplanters declined 1.6% (2,600 units). Looking at the trend over the past five years (2021–2025), rice transplanters have dropped 6% and tillers 5%, showing a clear path of decline.

Meanwhile, supported by the spread of mechanization in field farming and the government’s policy of integrated mechanization in major production areas, related machinery types are recording steep growth. Cultivators, essential equipment for field farming, rose by 3,632 units (0.8%) from the previous year to 466,895 units, while harvesters (up 10.1%), seeders (up 5.6%), and transplanters for field crops (up 2.9%) also all drew upward curves.

In particular, the ‘electrification (battery conversion) trend’ centered on small agricultural machinery has now become an irreversible mainstream. Agricultural machines powered by electricity, such as aerial work platforms, agricultural powered carriers, and ride-on pest-control machines, totaled 25,360 units, soaring 30.9% from the previous year. By type, eco-friendly ride-on agricultural pest-control machines increased 46.0% (2,321 units), while agricultural powered carriers rose 25.1% (2,476 units), leading the growth. Agricultural multicopters (drones), a benchmark of advanced unmanned technology, were also counted at 3,555 units, up 22.2% year on year, proving that smartization in the field is accelerating.

As the shift toward eco-friendly and electric agricultural machinery increases, the number of discarded agricultural machines being held is also rising. In fact, the number of discarded agricultural machines across six types, including power tillers, tractors, and cultivators, reached 11,766 units, up 7.2% from the previous year. As replacement cycles for agricultural machinery shorten and more equipment is left unattended due to the aging of farm households, continued illegal abandonment of existing engine-based agricultural machinery could cause rural environmental pollution and safety accidents, making it urgent to prepare measures for handling discarded farm machinery.

The results of this survey clearly indicate the future direction of government agricultural policy and agtech business. The government also plans to use these statistics in promoting agricultural mechanization policy, with Lee Si-hye, Director General for Agricultural Industry Innovation Policy at the ministry, stating, “We will reflect the results of this survey when establishing the 10th Basic Plan for Agricultural Mechanization (2027–2031).”

However, voices from the field are growing louder that institutional and budgetary support must accompany the expansion of eco-friendly and advanced agricultural machinery, as insufficient government support for eco-friendly power-source agricultural machinery and various infrastructure shortages still remain. In fact, a team leader at domestic agricultural machinery manufacturer A said, “Robotized agricultural machinery is more expensive than existing products because of factors such as high initial development costs. Even considering subsidies and loan support, the farmer’s own burden is three to four times greater,” adding, “For example, if a farmer’s out-of-pocket cost for a powered carrier is about 5 million won, a transport robot costs 20 million won. That is a fourfold difference. This is why farmers cannot easily purchase them and why on-site diffusion remains sluggish,” urging policy support from the government.