“Seeing the Future of K-Agriculture” E-Mart Successfully Concludes Future Agriculture Innovation Forum

https://www.smedaily.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=267454

(Front row, from left) Cho Yoon-mi, CEO of Future Consumer Action; Cha Kyung-hoon, CEO of EcoAble Consulting; Park Min-hye, Director of WWF Korea; Shin Myung-sup, CTO of N.Thing; Kim Kwan-soo, Professor at Seoul National University's Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development; Lee Kyung-hee, Vice President of ESG at E-Mart; Kim Cheol-beom, CEO of Deep Plant; Lee Choong-sik, Director of the Environment Education Center. Photo/E-Mart

E-Mart announced on the 7th that it successfully concluded the ‘Role of Smart Farms and Retailers for the Sustainability of Future Agriculture’ forum, held at the Seoul National University Museum of Art's lecture hall on the 6th.

The forum featured presentations from speakers including Kim Kwan-soo, a professor at Seoul National University's Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development; Shin Myung-sup, CTO of N.Thing; Oh Hyun-joon, Product Team Leader at E-Mart's Fresh Center; Park Min-hye, Director of WWF Korea (World Wide Fund for Nature); and Cha Kyung-hoon, CEO of EcoAble Consulting.

The forum held in-depth discussions on issues facing the future of agriculture, such as the climate crisis, food security, and the aging of rural populations, as well as the role of smart farms as a complementary solution.

First, Oh Hyun-joon, Product Team Leader at E-Mart's Fresh Center, introduced the success story of the 'Indoor Farm'—a small-scale indoor smart farm installed at E-Mart's Yeonsu branch this past April in collaboration with the smart farm startup N.Thing—explaining that it could become a significant alternative for future agriculture.

The Indoor Farm has received high interest from customers for its 'Farm to Table' model, where produce is sold on-site immediately after cultivation, rather than going through a distribution process from a production site to the store.

Currently, E-Mart offers 10 types of smart farm products. Sales of these related products have shown steep growth, doubling month-over-month for the past two months.

Smart farms minimize environmental pollution by not using soil or environmentally harmful substances like pesticides. Water consumption is also reduced by 94% compared to traditional outdoor farming, and the electricity used to operate the smart farms can be transitioned to clean energy, such as solar power, in the future.

They can also contribute to increasing farm household income due to their significantly higher yield per unit area and the ease of maintaining consistent quality control compared to conventional farming methods.

Oh Hyun-joon, Team Leader of E-Mart's Fresh Center Product Team, stated, "Smart farms are expected to contribute to the environment and future food security amid the agricultural crisis caused by climate change."

Source: The Korea Small & Medium Business News (http://www.smedaily.co.kr)