Smart Agriculture Korea-Israel Joint Workshop: An Initiative of the Korea-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation (KORIL-RDF)
Background
Organizations: Israel Innovation Authority and Korean Ministry of Agriculture
The Smart Agricultural Workshop was produced under the sponsorship of the Korea-Israel R&D Foundation (KORIL-RDF).
The Role of the Israel Innovation Authority
Established in 2001, the Korea-Israel R&D Foundation (KORIL-RDF) is a co-operation between South Korea’s Ministry of Industry and Knowledge and the Israel Innovation Authority that aims to promote industrial cooperation between Israeli companies and South Korean companies, as well as to encourage joint R&D activities and initiatives that will produce innovative technologies and products.
KORIL-RDF funded and organized the Smart Agriculture Workshop.
Successful Innovation
The Challenge / Opportunity
Korean-Israeli collaboration in Agri-tech sectors has escalated considerably in recent years. In 2014 and 2015, two separate delegations of Israeli companies participated in Korean agriculture exhibitions in Jinju & in Seoul at the invitation of the Korean government.
To support this initiative & encourage the trend, the Korea-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation (KORIL-RDF) decided to organize a Joint Smart Agriculture Seminar, hosted in Israel. In collaboration with IPET – Korean Ministry of Agriculture, KORIL brought a delegation of relevant Korean companies, academic researchers & research organizations to Israel in December 2016.
The Innovation – Workshop
Held between December 4-5, 2016 in Tel Aviv, Israel, agritech companies and scholars convened to present and learn about the latest developments in each country, share concepts & methodologies, meet potential project partners and promote appropriate support models.
Among the featured seminars were presentations on the use of IOT to execute precision agriculture in greenhouses (Israel), as well as a seminar on digital phenotyping and ICT-based technologies in plant breeding (South Korea). In addition to lectures by the two countries’ top field experts and academics, delegates toured several key agritechnology sites throughout Israel, among them: Trendlines Agtech Incubator in Misgav, the Agriculture Faculty of the Hebrew University in Rehovot, the Mikve Israel Agriculture School in Holon, and the Ramat HaGolan Winery in the Golan Heights. The informative tours included discussions of water uptake and homeostasis; KORIL’s ongoing project monitoring vine growth and grape development for wine production; and Israel’s growing agritech portfolio.
The Results
The Smart Agriculture Workshop deepened relations between Korea and Israel’s top agritech professionals. Prof. Byeongcheol Kang of Seoul National University invited several Israeli companies including Danziger Innovation NR Gene to present at PAG (Plant and Genome) Asia Conference May 2017 in Seoul.
Existing partners KOPIDA of South Korea and MIGDAL & Katif Research Center of Israel pledged their commitment to continued collaboration.
Israeli agritech professionals strengthened their ties with the Agricultural Technology Institute of Jeolla province, which will feature and Israeli Pavilion at its International Agricultural Exhibition in October of 2017.