Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) announced on January 4 that it planned to invest KRW 234.8bn (U$162.2m) on agriculture R&D this year.
This was 16.9% increase compared to 2025, reflects the ministry’s long-term strategy to transform agriculture into a future growth sector while enhancing Korea’s competitiveness in the sector.
5 Key areas of focus
The 2026 R&D programme will prioritise five core areas.
According to MAFRA, KRW73.2bn will be dedicated to developing technologies to respond to climate change, emerging diseases, and agricultural disasters as the sector grows more vulnerable to climate change.
The ministry also sees importance in modernising the sector and plans to invest KRW51bn in intelligent smart agriculture – robots, drones, and AI-based systems – to increase efficiency, optimise resources, and enable precision farming at scale.
Another area of focus was biotechnology, with KRW33.5bn in funding to support developments in green bio and life sciences, including the development of bio-based materials and companion animal healthcare solutions.
The ministry also intends to allocate KRW38.2bnto promote technology commercialisation and workforce development.
This funding is aimed at translating research outcomes into practical products, services, and solutions, while cultivating talent to support the next generation of agri-tech innovation.
Lastly, the ministry has set aside KRW38.9bn strengthening the global competitiveness of K-Food through securing high-value future food ingredients and advanced food technologies.
This initiative aims to expand the international presence of Korean food products and reinforce the country’s reputation as a hub for innovation on the global stage.
By combining advanced technologies, commercialisation strategies, and talent development, MAFRA aims to position the country’s agricultural sector for sustainable growth, innovation, and resilience in the years ahead.
“To industrialise agriculture as a future growth industry, we plan to make strategic investments in key areas such as the AI transformation (AX), advanced biotechnology, climate response and carbon neutrality technologies, and the advancement of food tech,” said Lee Si-hye, Director General for Agri-industry Innovation Policy, MAFRA
“By rapidly commercialising the advanced technologies secured through these efforts into a wide range of products and services at agricultural sites, we will ensure that the public can tangibly experience the outcomes.”
Calling all innovators
Out of the total investment sum, KRW45.6bn (U$31.5m) will be allocated to 12 new projects, including KRW28.7bn (U$19.8m) earmarked specifically for newly launched initiatives.
According to the ministry, applications for projects were already underway,
Evaluations and selections have been scheduled for February and March, with research activities expected to begin in April.
