Complex of vertical farms and greenhouses to showcase Korea’s smart-farming technologies
Korea has commenced the construction of a demonstration smart farm in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to serve as a foothold for Korean smart farms to enter the Middle Eastern market.
Representatives from Korean and Saudi Arabian governments and industry attended a ceremony held by Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) on 21 April celebrating the start of construction.
The ceremony was attended by Park Beomsu, Korea’s vice minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs and Mansour Hilal Al Mushaiti, Saudi Arabia’s vice minister of environment, water and agriculture.
Both countries said the project represented shared a goal of expansion of smart farming for enhancement of food security and agreed to continue reciprocal cooperation in the field of smart farming.
MAFRA and the Korea Agriculture Technology Promotion Agency have been carrying out the project of building demonstration smart farms in overseas export markets to showcase Korea’s smart-farming technologies.
The project in Riyadh is the fourth demonstration smart farm so far with the first built in Kazakhstan, the second built in Vietnam and the third in Australia.
The smart farm in Riyadh will be built into the form of a complex, measuring approximately 2,000m², composed of vertical farms and glass greenhouses. Diverse smart-farming technologies such as cutting-edge agricultural robots and environment-controlling solutions will also be applied to the smart farm complex.
The construction of the farm is scheduled to be completed in December 2025. It will be located in the National Agricultural and Animal Resources Research Centre, which is expected to play a role as a hub of smart farming for Saudi Arabia.
MAFRA said the smart farm complex is designed to serve as a catalyst for a wider introduction of smart farming to enhance the food security of Saudi Arabia, and act as a foothold for exporting Korean smart farms to the Middle East.
“The Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, is an important market for South Korea as the region has accounted for approximately 60 per cent of the exports and construction orders of Korean smart farms over the past two years,” said vice minister Park.
“With the commencement of the smart farm construction, the ministry will strengthen cooperation further with the government of Saudi Arabia to ensure that export of Korean smart farms to the Middle East can be accelerated.”
