Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), Korea | Source | Download |
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) is dedicated to accomplishing ten key objectives that encompass critical areas such as food security, the industrialization of future growth, ensuring the safety net for farm management, fostering appealing rural communities, and enhancing animal welfare. MAFRA's overarching mission is to advance core tasks, emphasizing agricultural innovation, self-reliance, creativity, and increased support for vulnerable populations through solidarity and cooperative efforts.
For the year 2023, MAFRA has outlined four major priorities:
- Enhancing Rural Support and Cultivating a Growth-Oriented Environment: Strengthening support systems for rural villages while creating an environment conducive to growth.
- Industrializing Future Agricultural Growth: Focusing on the industrialization of agriculture to drive future growth in the sector.
- Ensuring Food Sovereignty and Enhancing Farm Management Stability: A commitment to securing food sovereignty and bolstering the stability of farm management.
- Safeguarding Companion Animals and Promoting a Culture of Animal Protection: Guaranteeing the well-being of companion animals and fostering a culture of animal protection within society.
The task of future growth industrialization of agriculture implied the plan for smart agriculture and climate change. The goals of this task include:
- Cultivating 30,000 young farmers to lead agricultural innovation and fostering an innovation ecosystem in the agricultural and food sector.
- Establishing a foundation for sustainable development through the transition to an environmentally friendly agricultural and livestock industry.
Here are the main contents of the industrialization of agriculture:
- Nurturing Young Farmers: Encouraging aspiring young farmers to start businesses and providing enhanced support during the initial stages of entrepreneurship (starting from 2023). This includes facilitating easier repayment of funds for successor farmers, increasing inheritance tax deductions, and expanding the creation of a dedicated fund for young farmers.
- Agricultural Digital Innovation: Introducing rental smart farms to promote smart agriculture at 15 locations by approximately 2027. Establishing a smart farm big data platform by 2022 to facilitate data collection and utilization. Digitally transforming the agricultural product distribution chain, from production to consumption areas, which includes the expansion of smart Agricultural Production Centers (APCs), launching an online exchange platform from 2023 onwards, and digitizing transaction information in wholesale markets.
- Fostering the Food Industry: Strengthening research and development in green bio and new materials while improving systems to promote their industrial application. Identifying and promoting promising next-generation export foods. Enhancing Korean Wave marketing for traditional and Korean foods.
- Agricultural Industry Innovation Ecosystem: Establishing a platform for open and shared research data by around 2024. Expanding research and development efforts in emerging growth areas and increasing the agri-food fund to support agricultural and food venture startups.
- Environmentally Friendly Agriculture: Integrating eco-friendly agricultural production practices at 120 locations by around 2027. Making significant investments in research and development for carbon reduction. Expanding non-agricultural uses, such as energy conversion, for livestock waste, aiming to increase it from 10% in 2021 to 23% by 2027.
- Enhancing the Quarantine System: Developing and applying a livestock infectious disease risk assessment model by approximately 2024. Advancing the livestock quarantine system using big data by around 2027.
