LG CNS employees promote the company's intelligent smart farm platform, Tuesday. Courtesy of LG CNS

By Baek Byung-yeul

LG CNS will build a smart farm helping farmers to grow high-quality crops by utilizing the company's digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and sensors, the IT solution arm of LG Group said Tuesday.

The company said the project is promoted jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and South Jeolla Province and involves smart farming on open land rather than inside a greenhouse. The smart farm will be built on 54.3 hectares of farmland in the country's southwestern city of Naju by 2023. The area is about the size of 76 football fields.

"The smart farm we have been calling for was to install facilities inside a greenhouse, but this project will be built on open land. According to data from Statistics Korea, about 95 percent of the nation's agricultural land is cultivated in open fields and we expect that this smart farm project will become a leading global model," a company spokesman said.

The smart farm intelligent platform collects various data necessary for farming, such as the growth status of crops, soil conditions, weather, temperature and humidity and pests. The platform then analyzes the data with AI technology to provide optimal farming guidance.

Depending on the farmland area, tens of thousands of internet of things (IoT) sensors and other equipment are installed to monitor the growth process of crops ranging from sowing to harvesting and to collect various environmental data.

"For example, in case of potato farming, soil data and potato growth data are analyzed to advise on the appropriate amount and timing of fertilizing. The platform also guides an optimal water supply schedule based on soil moisture levels and weather conditions," the company elaborated.

The smart farm intelligence platform also offers automated agricultural machinery management services using driverless tractors and drones. With the services, farmers can operate farming machinery safely through remote systems without actually going into the fields.

With this project as a beginning, the company plans to expand its smart farm business by building apartment-type smart farms, rooftop smart farms and advanced glass greenhouse-type smart farms in Sejong Smart City, the country's first national pilot city.