S. Korea Steps Up Development of Testing Infrastructure to Advance the Intelligent Agricultural Machinery Industry

Sejong, 7 October 2026 — The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) held a groundbreaking ceremony on 29 September at the Saemangeum Agricultural and Life Sciences Site in Gimje for an intelligent agricultural machinery testing complex.

The facility will be used to test the performance and safety of agricultural machinery under actual farming conditions. A total of KRW 106.6 billion is being invested between 2023 and 2028 to develop the 100-hectare facility in Section 5 of Saemangeum.

The complex will include trial fields, driving test tracks, and other infrastructure needed for agricultural machinery development and evaluation. Manufacturers will receive systematic support throughout the process, from product development and field testing to performance improvements, inspection, and certification.

Meanwhile, the MAFRA has established a legal basis for excluding from policy financing any agricultural machinery manufacturers and other businesses engaged in unfair practices such as “dual pricing.” Accident prevention measures are also being introduced, to include expanding mandatory protective structures from four types of machinery to six and strengthening standards for nighttime reflectors.

A new programme scheduled for launch in 2027 will establish fifteen AI agricultural machinery-sharing centres linked to existing agricultural machinery rental services, giving farmers shared access to advanced equipment such as autonomous tractors. The programme will be expanded to 100 locations by 2030.