[Contribution] Middle East, opportunity for Korean smart farming firms

The State of Qatar, also known as the pearl of the Arabian Peninsula, is a small nation with a population of 3 million and a total land area spanning only one-tenth of South Korea. However, Qatar has emerged as a hub of diplomacy, culture and education in the Middle East, and is growing as a soft power leader.

With the 2023 Doha Expo 2023, the first A1 International Horticulture Exhibition, being held under a desert climate, the world is paying attention again to Qatar which was in the spotlight as the first country to host the World Cup in the Middle East in 2022.

The exposition will be held until March 28, 2024, under the theme of “Green Desert, Better Environment.” Participants from 80 countries, including Korea, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and Japan, will present innovative ideas as well as agricultural technologies and cultures.

Korea is showcasing cutting-edge smart farming technologies at the pavilion for Korean enterprises to visitors from around the world. Such technologies include vertical farming suitable for a desert climate, as well as a robot that monitors the growth condition of crops while driving autonomously without human intervention in a smart farm. The pavilion’s opening ceremony was held on Oct. 24 in the presence of Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. I myself took part in the event to promote Korea’s smart farming technologies, with the passion of a salesperson representing Korea.

Faced with grave challenges of limited land and water resources, countries in the Middle East are giving their all to smart farming technologies as the key to food security. Qatari government officials were also enthusiastic about the fact that a vertical farm of 5.2 square meters could produce the same amount of agricultural produce as the one that was cultivated on farmland of 1,332 square meters while saving a significant amount of water.

By using such excellent technologies, Korean enterprises are rapidly expanding their business globally. Korea’s export and contract value of smart farms, with the Middle East and Asia as large export markets, reached approximately $240 million, a threefold increase from the previous year.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is sparing no effort in policy support to help enhance the export competitiveness of the smart agriculture industry. The ministry is training professionals in the Smart Farm Innovation Valley, an industrial complex for smart farming. The policy support also goes to the commercialization of distinctive and outstanding technologies of smart farm businesses, as well as to the promotion of investment in such smart farm businesses. We are also expanding international bases to showcase such technologies to export markets with strong growth potential. In the summer, we established a relevant law to underpin the dissemination of smart agriculture and have been seeking to promote innovation across the entire agro-industry.

Qatar and Korea have a lot in common. Both countries are small peninsula nations surrounded by water on three sides, and making efforts to develop sustainable agriculture and strengthen food security. On the occasion of President Yoon’s state visit, the governments of Qatar and Korea amended the memorandum of understanding on smart farm cooperation. The revised memorandum encompasses expanding technical cooperation, once restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to exchange policy information as well as training professionals. The agreement also includes the expansion of bilateral exchange and cooperation through the establishment of the Director General-level Joint Committee on Smart Farms. Such improvement in cooperation will lay a foundation for Qatar to raise its food self-sufficiency rate by increasing the output of fruits and vegetables.

The exposition in Doha will provide an opportunity to pave a new path for the export of smart agriculture. The ministry will make an all-out effort to ensure that Korean smart farming enterprises can become a leader in bringing life and health to green deserts in the Middle East. What makes a desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides an oasis. I hope that K-smart agriculture will serve as an oasis to lead agricultural innovation in a desert in this era of global food crisis.

By Chung Hwang-keun

Minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs

Chung Hwang-keun is South Korea's minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs. The views expressed in this column are his own. – Ed.