A. Related Status

• Structural change and innovation in agriculture through technology and capitals such as smart farms raise development potentials of agriculture and provide the basis for expanding jobs
  * 51.9% of the 20s and 41.7% of the 30s who have newly entered the agricultural sector focus on the development potentials in agriculture.
  • Tendency of increased employment of permanent and temporary workers such as production managers with the structural change in agricultural management (scaling, professional, etc.)
    * Agricultural corporation (1,000) / Permanent workers (1,000): (’15) 18/40 → (’18) 22/55
    * Sectors where employment of manpower increased: Production 44%, professional management 17%, sales 11%, processing 10%, others 18%
• 2040 generations with expertise in diverse fields choose agriculture as their occupation with preference over technology-intensive agriculture such as facility horticulture and livestock, etc.
  * Among 142 trainees from smart farm incubation center, 75.3% are university graduates or higher including masters, doctors and graduates of overseas universities
  • In many cases, people prepare to start-up their businesses in the forms of employment or succession of family business, but during actual start-ups, they experience difficulties in securing farmland, facilities and education in each level.
• In order to promote innovation, it is necessary to converge modern technology and facilitate private investment, but there is lack of big data infrastructure, and innovative start-up investments in production field through fund of funds
  * Out of the total investment in fund of funds (KRW 700 billion in 2010 - 2019), investment in production field is only about 12%.

B. Implementation Plan

• Resolve Start-up Issues in 2040 Generations
  • (Farmland & Facility) Strengthen user-oriented customized farmland and facility supports by expanding supply volumes (‘19: 1,697ha → ‘20: 2,240) by diversifying farmland bank acquisition methods.
    - Introduce 'demonstration project for developing idle farmland', and grant preferential acquisition right* when long-term (10 years or more) leasing
    * Lease Period: (Present) 5 - 10 years → (Changed) 10 years (With an option choose to acquire or lease after termination of lease period)
    - Expand creation of lease-type greenhouses (30) and smart farms (4 innovation valleys + Chungcheongbuk-do & Gangwon-do) where they can start-up business at low cost
  • (Education & Consulting) Strengthen educational and consulting functions by holding intensive start-up & investment consulting* to minimize investment failure (2020 demonstrative project)
    * For young farmers intending to invest KRW 200 million or more, provide advice on the most ideal investment method and necessary capabilities (Reduce burden from 50% → 30%)
    - In order to develop intermediate level capacity into advanced level, secure 'step-up technological training course' that combines field instruction (problem-solving type), learning organization and expert education
  • (Support Sales Channel) Support new distribution channels by supporting them to plan and establish youth-oriented direct-trade market*
    * Public contest and support for creative marketing ideas of youths
    - (Online) Preferentially support youth farmers during online sales consulting*, and support launching youth farmer stores in online shopping mall
    * Discover products, create product description pages, shoot product photos and videos (at smart studio), etc.

• Establish Basis to Create Jobs Based On Technology & Idea
  • ㅇ Create innovation valley* as the basis for spreading smart farming, and foster professional manpower
    * (1st) Start in December 2019 → Complete practical & lease-type farm (4Q 2020) → Complete demonstration complex (2Q 2021)
    (2nd) Start in June 2020 → Complete practical & lease-type farm (2Q 2021) → Complete demonstration complex (4Q 2021)
    - Through youth start-up education course (20 months including theory and practice), foster professional manpower (2019: Selected 104 → 2020: 200), and establish a special graduate school for smart farming*
    * Compose consortium in 3 universities or less, support KRW 2 billion (per year) for 4 years, and foster 80 personnel with 20 personnel per year for 4 years
  • Create infrastructure to grow upstream and downstream industries of smart agriculture by establishing the big data platform for agri-food (linked to innovative valley) (2020: KRW 4.7 billion).
  • Prepare for early initiation of large-scale and inter-ministerial R&D to close on technological gaps (4.0 years) to advanced country (Netherlands) and develop fully automated smart farm based on AI.
    * Compose a business group, and set up research data platform (2020: KRW 8 billion), etc. (2021 - 2027: KRW 386.7 billion)
  • Build a customized funding system (entry → mature) in growth stage of start-up farmers.
    - Create 'Young Farmers' Fund*' (KRW 10 billion) that invests in potentials in the start-up stage, and 'Stepping Stone Fund' (KRW 21.5 billion) in the growth stage, and additionally create a secondary fund for collecting investment.
    * Reduce private investment risk by introducing preferential reserve for loss (exempt within 10% of government contribution), and reducing obligatory investment proportion (at least 50% → 40%0 in early (until 2 years) stages of agri-food sector

• Expand Agri-food Markets by Diversifying Export Markets
  • (New Southern) Resolve exporters' hardships for exporting star items (strawberry and grapes), and promote hallyu.
    - For strawberry, increase export volumes and improve quality by supporting joint-cultivation of seedlings* and freshness retaining package and facility, and for grapes, strengthen professional education for exporting farms in main producing sites (Sangju, Gimcheon, etc.)
    * Set up and operate joint seedling sites (1 each in Jinju and Nonsan)
    - Strengthen connection with hallyu events during marketing at K-food fairs*
    * Thailand (K-CON), Vietnam (Korea-Vietnam Food Culture Festival)
  • (New Northern) Dispatch overseas youth pioneering group (2020, 53 personnel) to pioneer the market, improve logistics conditions* and support exporting of smart farm plants
    * Compose a Consultative Group for Exporters (in March) → Set up a joint inland shipping platform for Central Asia and Mongolia
    - To export smart farm plant, set up demonstrative greenhouses (2 countries, 1ha size) in promising countries (2020 - 2021), and support a package of manpower such as professional growers and apparatus
    * Out of USD 97 million exports of smart farms in 2018, 76% (USD 74 million) were to countries in the new northern region
    - Compose a consortium (in March) of exporters and logistics companies and carry out a demonstration of joint shipping project that jointly loads and ships exporting volumes (Central Asia and Mongolia)