Jinan-gun has been finally selected for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' public contest for the "Smart Agriculture Promotion District Development Project." With this selection, the county has secured KRW 10 billion in national funding out of a total project cost of KRW 20 billion, and will now begin in earnest to establish a smart agriculture hub that will lead future agriculture on the Jinan Plateau.
The Smart Agriculture Promotion District Development Project is a core national agricultural policy initiative that creates, at the regional level, a concentrated smart agriculture base linking production, education, and settlement. Its aim is to both attract young farmers and respond to climate change. Jinan-gun applied for the project in December last year and was finally selected as the target site after an in-person presentation and on-site evaluation in January this year.
The new smart agriculture promotion district will be created in the Pyeongji-ri area of Maryeong-myeon and will be implemented in stages. The overall project will proceed in the order of: infrastructure development → construction of energy facilities → construction of smart farm house facilities → establishment of a support center. Previously, Jinan-gun had steadily laid the foundation for smart agriculture by being successively selected for public projects such as the smart horticulture complex infrastructure development project and the low-carbon joint energy use facility construction project. This latest selection for the smart agriculture promotion district will be carried out in connection with those preceding projects, and is particularly significant in that it has secured national funding needed to build approximately 4.2 hectares of rental-type smart farm houses.
Based on the secured national funding, Jinan-gun plans to begin construction in the second half of 2026 and complete it by 2028, with the goal of establishing the smart agriculture promotion district. Through this, the county intends to build a one-stop rural start-up environment that links education, hands-on training, and rental so that young farmers can take on smart agriculture without the burden of initial capital, and to inject new vitality into rural areas where aging and population decline are intensifying.
An official from Jinan-gun said, "The selection as a smart agriculture promotion district is an important turning point in shifting local agriculture to a technology-centered model," adding, "By securing national funding, we will reduce the fiscal burden while creating a smart agriculture environment in which young people can settle stably, thereby enhancing the future competitiveness of agriculture in Jinan."
Meanwhile, in line with its mid- to long-term plan, Jinan-gun will gradually develop the smart agriculture promotion district and intends to build a Jinan-style future agriculture model that leads responses to climate change and the sustainable development of agriculture.
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