The Rural Development Administration (Administrator Lee Seung-don) said on the 6th that it opened the Reclaimed Land Agriculture Research Center in Saemangeum.
The center was built on the Saemangeum reclaimed land agri-bio site with five research and annex buildings and test research cultivation fields, totaling 100 hectares (ha). The center will comprehensively research and demonstrate open-field smart agriculture technologies that use drones, satellites, and autonomous driving farm machinery, along with crop cultivation techniques to overcome environmental constraints unique to reclaimed land such as salinity and waterlogging, soil and water quality management, and precise management of water and nutrients.
Going forward, the center plans to work with large-scale farming sites such as the Saemangeum complex grain specialized production complex to develop stable production technologies for food crops including domestic wheat and soybeans, and to establish a data-based farming decision-making support system to boost the productivity and sustainability of reclaimed land agriculture.
The opening ceremony was held in two parts. In the first part, about 100 people from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Rural Development Administration, a local National Assembly member, Jeonbuk State, Gimje City, the Korea Rural Community Corporation (KRC), and the reclaimed land farming council attended to hear a progress report, unveil the signboard, and watch demonstrations of open-field smart agriculture technologies.
The second part featured a commemorative academic forum for the center's opening. The center and the Reclaimed Land Agriculture Research Society jointly held a forum under the theme "Reclaimed land agriculture, asking about the future of the national food strategy." First, Center Director Heo Seung-o of the Reclaimed Land Agriculture Research Center presented "Data-based development plans for reclaimed land agriculture research." Then Lee Seung-heon, head of the Rural Research Institute at the Korea Rural Community Corporation, presented "Utilization strategy for the corporation's reclaimed land agricultural sites," Lee Gwang-uk, head of domestic business at Daedong Co., presented "The direction of future smart agriculture and Daedong's progress," and Nam Jae-jak, head of the Precision Agriculture Research Institute, presented on "Future development directions for reclaimed land agriculture."
The Rural Development Administration said it plans to foster Saemangeum as a forward base for research and development in reclaimed land agriculture and as a demonstration platform leading food security and innovation in the agri-bio industry.
Center Director Heo Seung-o said, "The opening of the Reclaimed Land Agriculture Research Center is a starting point for the Saemangeum reclaimed land to leap forward as a national research hub that demonstrates the potential of future agriculture," adding, "The central government, localities, industry-academia-research, and farming sites will work together to make Saemangeum a representative model of food security and advanced agriculture."