South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) released the Next-Generation Agriculture and Bio R&D Strategic Roadmap on December 30, outlining a vision to integrate cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, and data into the agricultural sector. The roadmap is designed to address structural challenges facing the industry, foster emerging sectors such as smart data agriculture, and provide strategic R&D support for related initiatives.
The roadmap was developed by taking into consideration the domestic and international environment in agriculture and rural areas, as well as national technology policies and strategies. It is structured around three overarching goals: resolving long-standing issues such as climate change and labor shortages; transforming agriculture into a high-tech industry; and creating added value through technology convergence while expanding the boundaries of agri-food technology.
The plan identifies ten key strategic technology areas and outlines R&D pathways and phased targets for the next five years. These span advanced industrial domains including vertical farming, robotics, mobility, agricultural energy, and space satellites, as well as cutting-edge technology fields such as medical food, the microbiome, digital breeding, gene editing, and new agricultural biomaterials.
Key Targets by Technology Area
Robotics: Develop three or more types of self-learning robotic platforms applicable to diverse agricultural scenarios; establish five or more Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) commercialization models; achieve an automation rate of over 70% for major farming tasks and a prediction accuracy exceeding 80%, enabling a shift toward AI-customized agricultural production.
Digital Breeding: Leverage AI to shorten breeding cycles by 50% and improve prediction accuracy to over 90%.
Vertical Farming: Utilize AI-powered climate control systems to reduce energy consumption by 60% and commercialize five types of high-value agricultural products.
Microbiome: Build foundational data systems, achieve 80% functional verification accuracy, and identify 20 microbial strains with industrial potential.
Agricultural Mobility: Apply digital twin technology to reduce costs and improve efficiency; establish an intelligent data-sensing platform to support coordinated operations across diverse scenarios.
Agricultural Energy: Achieve 70% energy self-sufficiency in designated regions; expand into multiple new energy sources, including green hydrogen, while enhancing energy storage and management systems.
Space Satellites: Establish standards for a “satellite + ground” data system and develop three service models for agricultural applications.
Gene Editing: Achieve breakthroughs in core technologies; develop five scalable genome-editing tools and establish a full-chain support system.
New Agricultural Biomaterials: Develop smart materials; establish three virtual screening platforms; promote the development of low-environmental-impact products.
Medical Food: Shorten development cycles by 70% through AI-assisted collaboration models, supporting the mass production of personalized products.
A defining feature of the roadmap is its emphasis on cross-sector collaboration and multi-agency coordination. By establishing cooperation mechanisms involving the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and research institutions, the initiative aims to enhance investment efficiency and maximize the dissemination of technological outcomes.
Moving forward, MAFRA will use the roadmap as a priority reference for new R&D projects, aligning it with the Fourth Comprehensive Plan for Fostering Agricultural and Food Science and Technology (2025–2029). The ministry will also conduct regular assessments to monitor implementation progress and effectiveness.
