CJ Freshway to boost smart farming business

South Korea’s CJ Freshway Corp. announced on Monday that it will launch a smart farm contract cultivation business in 2024. 

South Korea's CJ Freshway announced on Monday that it will launch a smart farm contract cultivation business beginning next year. Amid fluctuating agricultural prices due to climate change-related disruptions, the plan is to stabilize the distribution of agricultural goods through smart farm contract cultivation.

Since last year, CJ Freshway has been cultivating crops in collaboration with local farms in regions such as Daejeong, Jeju (garlic), Seosan, South Chungcheong Province (onions), Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province and Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province (potatoes), accumulating data.

The harvested agricultural products are purchased in full and supplied to food service and catering service companies. From next year, the company will expand the smart farm to Boeun County, North Chungcheong Province.

Utilizing outdoor smart farms allows the observation of the growth environment through information technology and the acquisition of optimal cultivation information based on growth patterns.

In addition, there are advantages in reducing fertilizer and pesticide usage based on data collected through sensors measuring weather information and soil conditions.

"We are striving to solve the problems of local farmers who have a hard time because of extreme weather conditions and a sharp increase in production costs," a CJ Freshway source said. "We expect to be able to supply high-quality agricultural products more stably."

Write to Kyeong-je Han at hankyung@hankyung.com