Park Geun-Hye Wants Agriculture to Develop as a Growth Engine for South Korea

On Friday, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye emphasized her stand on developing the agricultural sector in a future growth engine by applying cutting-edge technologies, cultural content, tourism, and other creative ideas.

The Korea Herald reported that during an agricultural fair in Seoul, the president pledged to support the "sixth industrialization" of agriculture. The term "sixth industrialization" refers to the incorporation of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries to further develop greater value-added agricultural goods and services.

During the fair called "2016 A Farm Show," the president said, "The government will do its utmost to ensure that more people can realize their dreams in the agricultural field and that our agricultural sector can become a new growth dynamo."

Park also reiterated the need to finance the information and communications technologies (ICT) and biotechnologies to raise productivity and improve the quality of agricultural products. According to her, these are just some of the methods to cultivate the agricultural sector into a future-oriented industry.

In connection to this, the president called for incessant efforts to expand the so-called "smart farms" that makes use of advanced technologies in the production, storage, packaging, marketing, and distribution phases. The South Korean leader firmly believes that such process can hone the competitiveness of the country's agricultural industry.

In consideration of the growing number of young people who have creative ideas and are continuously contributing to enhancing the agricultural sector, Park guaranteed to provide government aid in order to support these young people start their farm ventures.

The president also said that achieving the "sixth industrialization" of agriculture and cultivating the industry as a strong and competitive export industry will be the answer to resolving various difficulties.

The chief executive said, "The government will actively support the "sixth industrialization" of agriculture through addressing difficulties facing those out on the fields by drastically enhancing the regulatory system. Expanding our agricultural exports to the global market also remains a very crucial task."

"2016 A Farm Show" is a three-day agricultural fair hosted by the local daily Dong-A Ilbo and broadcast company Channel A. It installed 170 booths the provide details on different agricultural businesses and ventures.