The Korean Agriculture Ministry Hosts the Agriculture and Rural Public Data + AI Start-up Competition

Sejong, 1 April 2026 — The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) hosts the 11th Agriculture and Rural Public Data + AI Utilisation Start-up Competition in collaboration with its nine affiliated organisations*, with the aim of fostering a diverse range of entrepreneurs who will lead the AI-driven transformation (AX) of agriculture and rural communities.

* Rural Development Administration; Korea Rural Community Corporation; Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation; Korea Racing Authority; Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation; Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture and Forestry; Korea Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Agricultural Policy Insurance & Finance Service; and Korea Agriculture Technology Promotion Agency

This Competition is open to anyone (individuals or teams), including start-ups, prospective entrepreneurs, and university students, who possess business ideas that integrate agricultural and rural data with AI technologies. The categories for competition are as follows: (a) idea planning: ideas and new business models to address agricultural and rural issues and (b) development of products and services: development of agri-food services, applications, and solutions that integrate public data with AI technologies. Applications may be submitted via the Agri-food Public Data Portal website (http://data.mafra.go.kr) from 1 April to 30 June.  

Applicants are required to submit their entries by 30 June. After their entries are evaluated through document screening and presentations in July, a total of 18 winners will be selected, including 3 Grand Prizes, 3 Highest Excellence Awards, and 12 Excellence Awards, with the awards ceremony scheduled for 13 August. Prize winners will receive a total of KRW 56 million in prize money, along with practical benefits essential for start-up development. Such benefits include the following: (a) provision of customised public data to enhance the quality of their projects, (b) opportunities for IT training, (c) commercialisation consulting, and (d) support for prototype production and promotion. 

In addition, Grand Prize winners in each category will be eligible to participate in the finals of the 14th Pan-Government Public Data and AI Utilisation Start-up Competition (scheduled for September), hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and will receive support for submission of their entries.