1. Related Current Situation

• (Smart Farming) Expansion basis is prepared for smart farming such as the creation of Innovation Valleys (2018~) and the initiation (2020~) of an empirical study on open land smart farms
  • Young farmers for smart farming are nurtured by producing the first graduates from the training centers inside the Innovation Valleys*(June 2020, 45 people) and admitting more students (2019: 104 people → 2020: 208)
    * Lured more youth to the agricultural sector; out of 45 graduates, 38 people started their own agro-businesses, while four people were hired by agricultural enterprises.
    ⇨ Innovation Valleys will be in full operation after the construction for had been orderly finished within the year.

• (Online Distribution) Possibility of an innovative contactless distribution of agricultural products was seen* in the demonstrative promotion of online wholesale transaction for onions (May 2020~) and garlic (August 2020~).

* Quantity of online transaction of onions and garlics was the third or fourth largest in comparison to the quantity of 32 offline wholesale markets.

• • Thanks to the introduction of online wholesale transaction, it is expected that the increased welfare of producers and consumers such as the improvement of the distribution efficiency and the expansion of the shipping options.
    * (Shipper) Receiving price of onion increased to 77 won/kg, (Consumer) purchasing price reduced to 62 won (estimated)
    ⇨ Tasks to supplement are as follows: lack of participation in transaction by diverse players, burden of logistics costs imposed on small-scale traders, and lack of direct benefits for farmhouses

• (Online Export) Expand the contactless export support by holding online expos and helping market pioneering, and promptly deal with the changes in export and distribution environment caused by COVID-19
  ⇨ It is required to improve the export structure of agri-food products which highly rely on the export via offline stores with a low dependency* on direct export that avoids brokers.
  * As of 2019, there were 10 agricultural food companies capable of online direct export. (0.05% among 1,931 aT registered exporting companies)

2. Promotion Plan

• (Smart Farming) Support the industrial ecosystem of smart farms in terms of data and export by establishing an operational system for four Innovation Valleys (~April, Sangju·Gimjae), promoting their activation.*
  * Enactment of laws in regard to training, big data, governance, and standardization of smart farming (December)
  • (Innovation Valley) Utilize the training centers, rental greenhouses, and empirical complex inside the Innovation Valleys to proactively nurture young farmers in full scale (July~), and support the advancement of smart farm technology
    - Reinforce the support of startups by supporting young farmers who have graduated from the training center with rental greenhouses in the Innovation Valleys, and expanding the support limit of reserved agricultural lands (1ha → 2ha)
    - Promote the interconnection of demonstration complex in the Innovation Valleys with smart farm R&D projects,* for the improvement of smart farm productivity and the technological development in AI base unmanned automation area.
    * Multi-ministerial cooperative study on the source technology of smart farm and the development of next generation technology (2021~2027, 386.7 billion won)
  • (Data) Enhance the degree of data utilization by establishing a Cloud base data platform (July) and holding Smart Farm AI Competition (October)
  • (Exportation) Promote the creation of overseas demonstrative greenhouse (Kazakhstan, Vietnam) and the Official Development Assistance for smart farm (ODA, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines) and support the untact exportation of agricultural equipment and materials

• (Innovation of Digital Distribution) Prepare a basis for the online transaction to settle as a new alternative of innovative distribution
  • (Activation of Transaction) Activated the transaction by inducing large-scale storage and processing companies and Kimchi factories to participate and diversifying transaction methods (reverse auction, reserved purchase, etc) (January~)
    * Promote the demonstrative introduction of online transaction method for flower (2021~), livestock products (2022~) etc.
  • (Efficiency of Logistics) Prepare a measure to improve the logistics system through the analysis on the current status of logistics facilities of local producers and the items and quantity of online transaction (June)
  • (Supporting Farmhouse) Reinforce the function to support farmhouses such as the establishment of online demonstration model (Study service, ~May) for the items of insufficient function of public sales by local producers (Native Namdo garlic, etc).

• (Online Exportation) Convert types of supporting exportation such as the advancement of a giant online distribution platform besides previous promotion and marketing and the operation of a permanent untact export platform
  • Expand* to open stores of 'Korean Foods Hall' inside the prospective market of global giant online mall such as China and new southern regions and foster** 100 companies for agricultural foods available through direct online exportation
    * (2020) China (T-Mall) → (2021) 5 sites (Fresh Hippo of China, Southeast Asia Shopee, etc)
    ** Support logistics for the direct exportation of multiple varieties with small quantity and reinforce the competency of online & mobile marketing
  • In preparation for a permanent untact exportation, establish an online transaction (B2B) platform which enables the provision of product information, the inquiry of transaction conditions, and the request of quotation