Goyang City Introduces Nation’s First Vertical Smart Farm on Farmland... A Groundbreaking Step for Future Agriculture

City Launches Full-Scale Operation of 'Container-Type Vertical Farm'
Establishing an Advanced Smart Agriculture Model
Responding to Abnormal Climate and Creating New Jobs

The 'Vertical Smart Farm Pilot Project' for functional leafy vegetable cultivation, targeting farmers in Goyang Special City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Donghwan), is drawing significant attention. This is considered the first case of directly supporting a vertical smart farm in an actual agricultural setting.

Goyang City, 'Vertical Smart Farm Pilot Project'. Provided by Goyang Special City

The 'Vertical Smart Farm Pilot Project' was launched in response to the increasing difficulties of open-field and facility-based leafy vegetable production due to frequent heatwaves caused by recent abnormal weather patterns. The project aims to create an agricultural environment that enables stable, year-round production of leafy vegetables, unaffected by seasonal or climatic conditions.

This project was selected by Goyang City in 2024 as part of the 'Regional Vitalization Crop Base Establishment Project' by the Gyeonggi-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services, and will be fully implemented in 2025. After review by the 2025 Goyang City Agricultural Industry-Academia Cooperation Council, Greengreeng Agricultural Corporation was ultimately chosen as the project partner.

The vertical smart farm has been established in the form of a container-type vertical farm on farmland in Beopgot-dong, Ilsanseo-gu. It is operated as a facility equipped with a smart environmental control system for cultivating functional leafy vegetables.

Notably, this project is significant in that it applies a vertical smart farm to an actual agricultural site in line with recent changes in laws and regulations that now permit such installations. It demonstrates the practical applicability of a new agricultural production model.

Through this pilot project, approximately 10 new jobs are expected to be created in the operation, management, cultivation, and distribution of the vertical smart farm. In addition, participating farms are expected to see their income increase by about 23.6% due to improved production stability and quality compared to traditional cultivation methods.

Lee Jaekwang, CEO of Greengreeng Agricultural Corporation, the selected project partner, said, "Introducing a vertical smart farm to farmland was a new challenge for farmers, requiring different preparation and decision-making compared to traditional cultivation methods. With the city's systematic administrative support, we were able to try this new agricultural model in the field, and through this, we have identified new possibilities for farmers' production methods and management."

This year, the city aims to cultivate and stably produce European leafy vegetables such as butterhead and Batavia lettuce throughout the year. In the first half of the year, the focus will be on accumulating growth environment data to advance cultivation technology, and from the second half, the city plans to begin full-scale sales through partnerships with various distribution and food service companies.

Lee Donghwan, Mayor of Goyang City, stated, "This project is a meaningful milestone that applies advanced technology to the agricultural field in line with the era of AI and data-driven agriculture. We will continue to expand field-oriented pilot projects so that smart agriculture technology can lead to increased farmer incomes and the creation of local jobs."