KRW 254.6 billion ‘National Agricultural AX Platform’ takes its first step…Will the AI blueprint take root in the field?

The ‘National Agricultural AX(AI transformation) Platform’ project, into which a total of KRW 254.6 billion will be invested, has entered a full-fledged implementation track. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs finally selected the ‘Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City Consortium’ as the private participant in the National Agricultural AX Platform. Through joint public-private investment, they will establish a special purpose company(SPC) within this year and, starting next year, build a cutting-edge AI greenhouse and open-field farmwork service hubs.

Smart farm construction could begin as early as next year…Three pillars to operate: cultivation·open-field agency service·platform
The National Agricultural AX Platform promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will be carried out through a public-private joint special purpose company(SPC) with public investment of no more than 49% and private investment of at least 51%. The total project cost is KRW 254.6 billion, and the structure is designed for long-term operation over the next 20 years. Daedong will invest KRW 20 billion and oversee the project as the lead company of the consortium. This consortium includes LG CNS, Daedong Agtech, Daeyoung GS, Art Farm Agricultural Cooperative Corporation, Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, and Muan County.

Construction of the advanced greenhouse could begin as early as next year. Since building an advanced greenhouse typically takes about 3 years, the full infrastructure is expected to take shape around 2029.

This project is broadly divided into 3 areas according to its objectives. According to the ministry’s February 5 notice this year, titled ‘Call for Private Participants in the National Agricultural AX Platform’, the goal of the project is to accelerate agricultural industry AX and preempt new global markets by building an AI·data-based farming solution platform and a leading model for AI smart farms.

Accordingly, the first business area is crop cultivation through a cutting-edge AI greenhouse(smart farm) covering 21.6ha(about 65,000 pyeong). The second is the ‘establishment and operation of farmwork services’ that support sowing·pest control·harvesting and more for farms using cutting-edge AI agricultural machinery. Lastly, it involves the establishment and operation of an ‘AI·Data Solution Platform’ to integrate and manage production and growth data and distribute farming solutions. Through these businesses, the goal is to generate cumulative sales of KRW 1.53 trillion over 20 years.

Securing data on growth·farmwork, etc.…Strategy to export 100% of tomatoes·paprika
Here, crop growth monitoring data and work data such as fertilizer application and pesticide spraying are expected to be collected in real time. The plan is to continuously monitor and collect growth and work data through trial and error under various environmental conditions, and ultimately complete an optimal high-efficiency model that can later be expanded to domestic farms.
Yoon Seong-geun, head of Daedong’s PR team, said, “We plan to secure data on growth and work through continuous monitoring,” adding, “We want to cultivate under various environmental conditions and secure data so that we can later present a good model for domestic expansion.”

The crops to be cultivated have been narrowed down to tomatoes and paprika in consideration of supply-demand impact and export potential. To minimize shocks to the domestic market, the policy is to require letters of intent for 100% export from the bidding stage and send the entire volume to overseas markets.

Park Chan-won, deputy director of the Agricultural AI Transformation Support Team at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, explained, “Even for a cutting-edge greenhouse, several years of settling-in time are needed before target yields that can guarantee profitability are achieved,” adding, “The crops will be grown not by planting directly in soil, but through hydroponic cultivation and an environmental control system.”
 

Promotion of AI solution·farmwork agency services
SPC revenue will not be limited to proceeds from export sales of agricultural products. Subscription fees from distributing AI solution services to farms and ‘farmwork agency fees’ will also be combined as key revenue sources.

AX Platform will basically be based on free services, but advanced functions such as ultra-precise farming prescriptions and autonomous driving control are expected to be operated in the form of ‘paid premium subscription services’. In addition, another revenue model is to charge a certain fee to carry out farmwork on behalf of farms that have difficulty performing such work themselves.

In terms of governance, the appointment of the SPC CEO will follow procedures under the Commercial Act. The basic project period is 20 years, but the period may be extended depending on operating performance and other factors. Deputy Director Park Chan-won said, “Although this is a project with a set end date, if operating performance during the project period is outstanding, profitability is high, and the government internally determines that continued operation is necessary for public-interest purposes, the possibility of extending the project period is also being left open.”
 

Hoping it spreads as accessible, widely deployable appropriate technology
There are calls for this large-scale project, which involves hundreds of billions of won in funding, to be accompanied by measures that can change the constitution of Korean agriculture toward a data-centered model and lead to tangible benefits for farmers.

First is improving farmers’ accessibility and easing the burden of subscription fees. If the platform is complicated to use or paid subscription fees are burdensome, farms will inevitably feel a high barrier to entry. It is essential to develop an intuitive, user-centered platform and create a soft-landing plan that lowers the initial barrier to paid services.

Another issue is securing the economic viability of farmwork agency services. Experts advise that a routing control system for idle agricultural machinery must function so that farmwork can be handled in a timely manner while maintaining price competitiveness against existing farmwork agency fees. Lastly, there is the sustainability of export sales channels. The condition that 100% of tomatoes·paprika produced in glass greenhouses be exported is a minimum safeguard to protect domestic farms. If long-term contracts with overseas distribution channels cannot be firmly secured, the burden could fall back on domestic farms and participating companies.

An agriculture industry official argued, “The AI solutions and data verified and standardized in cutting-edge greenhouses should later be converted into accessible, affordable appropriate technologies that other farms can also use easily, creating a trickle-down effect. That would be the ultimate policy goal.”