Korean Journal of Agricultural Science (농업과학연구)

Institute of Agricultural Science, CNU (충남대학교 농업과학연구소)
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Economic impact of digitalization on agriculture: a Korean perspective

  • Jung-Won, Youm (Farmer Service Center for FTA Implementation, Korea Rural Economic Institute) ;
  • Su-Hwan, Myeong (Farmer Service Center for FTA Implementation, Korea Rural Economic Institute) ;
  • Jeong-Ho, Yoo (The Division of International Commerce, Pukyong National University)
  • Received : 2021.10.14
  • Accepted : 2022.01.26
  • Published : 2022.03.01
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Abstract

The global trade environment is rapidly changing. The spread of COVID-19 promotes digitalization, and online transactions are becoming the new normal. Currently, Korea is actively introducing information and communication technology (ICT) that uses the internet of things (IoT) in relation to agriculture. However, few studies have analyzed the impact of digitalization on trade in the agricultural sector. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine how the introduction of digital technology can affect the economy and trade of Korea. In this study, we estimate the impact of introducing digital technologies using the computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. The results of this analysis indicate that the GDP could increase by 3.82% to 10.53%. Also, agricultural production and trade according to the model will significantly increase to 8.67% and 5.72%, respectively, through a productivity increase from Blockchain, IoT, and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, despite logistics inefficiencies. Although the effects of digitalization could be significant, farmers are still struggling to introduce digital technologies, stemming from the fact that government support systems are concentrated in only a few sub-sectors. In this regard, support in this area must be expanded and diversified according to the current environment of agriculture in Korea.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Pukyong National University Research Fund in 2021(CD20211005).

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