1. Reason for Enactment

As the Act on Fostering and Supporting Smart Farming (Law No. 19570; promulgated on July 25, 2023; enforced on July 26, 2024) has been enacted to promote automated, precision, and unmanned farming through the convergence of agriculture and cutting-edge information and communication technologies, etc., thereby contributing to higher incomes for farmers and to the growth and development of agriculture and rural areas, the proposed enactment specifies the matters delegated by the Act and introduces the provisions necessary for its implementation.

2. Main Contents

a. Establishment and implementation of basic plans, implementation plans, and City/Do plans (Article 2 and Article 3 of the draft)

1) The enactment stipulates that the basic plan shall be established by June 30 of the year preceding the year in which the five-year period begins, and that the implementation plan shall be established by December 31 of the year preceding the year in which the plan is implemented.

b. Scope of work of the smart farming support center (Article 4 of the draft)

1) The enactment stipulates that the scope of work of the smart farming support center shall include the establishment of infrastructure such as support facilities for fostering smart farming, the training of personnel, education and publicity, research and development and dissemination of the related technologies, and fostering and supporting the related equipment (including agricultural drones and agricultural robots) and service industries.

c. Criteria and procedures for designating smart farming support centers (Article 5 and attached Table 1 of the draft)

1) The enactment prescribes the criteria for designating smart farming support centers, such as its organization, facilities, and personnel (attached Table 1).

d. Designation of Smart farming specialized companies (Article 6 of the draft)

1) The enactment stipulates provisions for the designation as “smart farming specialized companies” of companies engaged in smart farming and the related industries that meet the standards of sales and other standards notified by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

e. Contents and methods of investigating the farming situation, etc. (Article 7 of the draft)

1) The enactment stipulates provisions for conducting investigations of the actual status and situation of smart farming, such as the status of smart farming by type (in the case of livestock farming, status by livestock type and field), status of the related industries, and changes made before and after the introduction of smart farming.

f. National technical qualifications related to smart farming (Article 8 of the draft)

1) The enactment stipulates provisions regarding the national technical qualifications required to obtain smart farming manager qualifications and the method of passing the smart farming manager qualification examinations.

g. Processing of Identification Information (Article 9 of the draft)

1) The enactment stipulates provisions for the processing of identification information to ensure efficient operation of the smart farming manager qualification system and the collection and use of smart farming data.

h. Contents of the standardization project (Article 10 of the draft)

1) The enactment stipulates provisions for promoting the discovery of standard elements for equipment and data related to smart farming, enactment and revision of standards, design and improvement of product for standard application, and verification support, etc.

i. Data processing of smart farming data platforms (Article 11, Article 12, and Article 13 of the draft)

1) The enactment stipulates provisions for regulating the scope of data that can be processed on a smart farming data platform.

2) The enactment stipulates provisions that enable the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to disclose data built and linked to smart farming data platforms.

3) The enactment stipulates provisions that enable a smart farming data platform to request data from entities operating smart farming-related information systems.

j. Reasons for cancellation of designation of hub complex for supporting smart farming (Article 14 of the draft)

1) The enactment the purpose of designation of a hub complex for supporting smart farming cannot be achieved or it is expected that the purpose cannot be achieved, its designation may be canceled if a Mayor/Do governor requests cancellation.

k. Designation of smart farming fostering districts (Article 15 of the draft)

1) The enactment stipulates provisions for designating areas that meet the standards of land areas and other designation requirements notified by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs as “smart farming fostering districts.”

l. Notice of cancellation of designation of a person as the implementer of a district construction project, approval of district construction project plan (Article 16 and Article 17 of the draft)

1) In the event that a Special Self-Governing City Mayor, a Special Self-Governing Province Governor, or the head of a Si/Gun/Gu designates or revokes the designation of a person as the implementer of a district construction project, he/she shall make a public announcement and notify that person thereof.

2) When changing 1/100 or more of the total project area or total project cost, or changing the project implementation period by 6 months or more, he/she shall obtain approval from the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.