As Equipment Gets Smarter, Workforce and Awareness Remain Stagnant… We Will Lead ‘Communication and Expansion’ for the Next 50 Years

[Korea Agricultural Technology Newspaper = Reporter Lee Hyun-woo] “When we first began research on unmanned tractors and precision agriculture 30 years ago, there were quite a few critical voices around us saying, ‘Why is that necessary in a country with land as small and fragmented as ours?’ But just two or three years ago, the atmosphere changed completely. Only now have the government and industry, feeling a sense of crisis, realized that ‘there is no breakthrough other than advanced technology.’ It is regrettable that while trends are changing so rapidly, the field ecosystem and awareness are still stuck in the past.”

We met Jeong Seon-ok, president of the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery (and professor at Chungnam National University), who successfully wrapped up the four-day spring academic conference commemorating the society’s 50th anniversary in Jeju from the 13th to the 16th. Starting with participation in Korea’s first unmanned tractor research project, President Jeong has helped lay the foundation for the smart agriculture field, and throughout the interview he emphasized the ‘creation of a field ecosystem’ and the ‘society’s role as a central hub’ amid this paradigm shift. The following is a Q&A with President Jeong.

-The 50th anniversary spring academic conference was held on an unprecedented scale and is being evaluated as a successful event with broad participation.
“After taking office as president, I wanted to create ‘a society that members truly want to attend.’ If the society had previously been a closed structure centered on university professors and Rural Development Administration researchers, it must now break those boundaries and expand. Everyone should gather under the society—not only manufacturers and R&D companies, which form one axis of the agricultural machinery industry, and government-funded research institutes studying AI and robotics, but also agricultural machinery staff at agricultural technology centers in cities and counties nationwide who meet farmers directly. Agricultural mechanization without field personnel is like something with no substance.
This time, we boldly changed the venue to a resort-style location and greatly increased technical lectures and special sessions centered on field personnel. As a result, attendance, which was usually around 300 to 400 people, reached about 600 at this spring conference, making it a great success. It was a meaningful occasion where we saw the potential of communication and expansion.”

-In particular, the ‘workforce session’ held on the second day drew strong sympathy from the field. How do you view the problem of workforce depletion in agricultural machinery?
“At present, intelligent agricultural machinery and AI technologies are advancing at a frightening pace, but the field ecosystem needed to operate and manage them is on the verge of collapse. Agricultural Technology Center rental offices, for example, need to immediately hire master’s- and doctoral-level specialists to operate smart equipment and create new programs to train farmers, but in reality, rotating assignments and treatment issues are only deepening the break in technical continuity. Even when schools cultivate young talent, we must stop the vicious cycle in which they are blocked by career barriers and flow out to other industries. The society plans to take the lead in proposing practical measures to the government in which technology, certifications, field organizations, and budgets are all linked together.”

-How are you envisioning the autumn academic conference to be held in the second half of this year?
“During my two-year term, my core keyword is ‘industry-academia cooperation.’ We must strengthen industrial competitiveness in a way that solidifies the domestic market and greatly expands exports. The main theme of the autumn academic conference to be held at BEXCO in Busan from October 20 to 23 is also being planned as ‘Ways to strengthen the competitiveness of the agricultural machinery industry and expand export markets.’ This autumn conference will be held in the form of a joint academic conference with Japan and Taiwan, and global export networks and official development assistance (ODA) projects will be discussed in depth.”

-What is the ultimate vision the society should pursue going forward?
“Recently, smart farm-related departments are being newly established at major universities such as Kyung Hee University and Sejong University, and the main stage they will ultimately come to is our Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery. Our society must become the undisputed central hub of the agricultural mechanization field and organically connect industry, academia, government, and research. Beyond the number of registered conference participants, we will continue to encourage new membership and constantly expand convergence sessions with other disciplines such as space agriculture, bio, and food. We will build a dynamic society that leads the next 50 years of the agricultural machinery industry.”