25 Years of Nonggwanwon, Integrating AI as 'Guardian of Our Agricultural Products'

25th Anniversary Ceremony on the 1st
Enhancing Accuracy Using Advanced Technologies for Agricultural Product Inspection and Origin Control
Director Park Seong-woo: "We Will Become an Institution Trusted by Farmers and Consumers"

On the 1st, attendees at the "25th Anniversary Ceremony of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service" are taking a group photo.

The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAQS) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, is promoting the scientific advancement of its overall operations by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) technology into agricultural product inspections and origin control.

A NAQS official stated on the 3rd, "Due to the nature of NAQS's work, there are many areas where AI technology is needed, such as agricultural product inspections, origin control, and compliance checks for direct payment programs," adding, "In the future, integrating AI technology will enhance the accuracy and efficiency of NAQS operations."

The origin of NAQS dates back to the establishment of the 'National Agricultural Products Inspection Office' in 1949. Later, in 1998, the Agricultural Products Inspection Office and the Agricultural Statistics Office were merged, and as the scope of quality and distribution management of agricultural products expanded, the agency was renamed the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service in 1999.

On the 1st, NAQS held a '25th Anniversary Ceremony' at the main auditorium in Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk, sharing major achievements by task and future directions. NAQS's work is broadly categorized into ▲ agricultural product inspection management ▲ agricultural food origin labeling management ▲ agricultural product safety management ▲ eco-friendly and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification management.

NAQS has evolved from a simple agricultural product grading agency into a scientific and systematic agricultural food management system. Furthermore, responding to consumer demands, it has established order in agricultural food distribution through safety investigations, eco-friendly certification, and origin labeling tasks.

NAQS has increased the compliance rate of origin labeling from 94.8% in 1999 to 97.3% last year through crackdowns on vulnerable items, strengthening private monitoring functions, and developing origin verification methods using advanced technology. The number of items subject to origin labeling has also doubled from 428 to 985. Additionally, multi-residue pesticide analysis in agricultural products expanded from 36 components in 1999 to 463 components last year, reducing the non-compliance rate from 5.8% to 1.2%.

Alongside this, NAQS manages agricultural business registration information, serving as the qualification management basis for support judgments by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, other ministries, and local governments, thereby supporting stable income for farmers. It also strives to ensure the stable establishment of the direct payment system by inspecting compliance and preventing fraudulent claims.

In particular, since last year, NAQS has been performing additional tasks such as powdered rice purchase inspections, pesticide quality inspections and distribution management, aerial spraying business registration, and pesticide damage dispute mediation.

Park Seong-woo, head of NAQS, said, "NAQS has preserved its history and tradition while evolving its roles and functions by introducing new tasks in response to changing times and demands, becoming a field-centered agricultural policy agency. We will maintain and develop high capabilities in related tasks and strive to become a trusted institution by farmers and consumers through diverse communication and promotional activities with policy customers."

The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service sealed a time capsule containing hopeful messages from all employees after the 25th anniversary ceremony held on the 1st and is taking a commemorative photo.

Meanwhile, following the commemorative event, NAQS sealed a time capsule containing hopeful messages from all employees. The time capsule, carrying messages for future generations, is scheduled to be opened on July 1, 2049, 25 years from now.