Korea hosted APEC 2025 Policy Partnership on Food Security (PPFS) to reinforce food security cooperation in APAC

Theme “Driving Innovation in Agri-food Systems for Shared Prosperity,” aimed to strengthen food security in the Asia-Pacific region by enhancing agri-food policies and systems

Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) held the first meeting of the APEC 2025 Policy Partnership on Food Security (PPFS) in the city of Gyeongju from 4 to 6 March 2025.

The Republic of Korea, which has assumed the role of the chair of the APEC for the year 2025, and hosted senior officials’ meetings (SOM). The APEC PPFS summit was a platform that brought together governments, the private sector, and academia to strengthen food security in the Asia-Pacific region. As a sub-forum of the APEC SOM, the PPFS develops and coordinates food security policies.

In the first meeting, approximately 120 participants from 21 APEC economies shared the progress in the implementation of the Food Security Roadmap Towards 2030 (Roadmap 2030) and shared views on the revisions to the terms of reference for the PPFS. The economies also agreed on the main theme of the 2025 Food Security Ministerial Meeting (FSMM).

With the theme of “Driving Innovation in Agri-food Systems for Shared Prosperity,” the Ministerial Meeting will explore the ways to innovate agri-food policies and systems.

In the Food Security Ministerial Meeting scheduled to be held in Songdo International Business District in the city of Incheon in August 2025, agriculture ministers from 21 APEC economies will share the best practices of innovation in the field of agri-food and adopt the Ministerial Statement outlining the ways to strengthen cooperation on food security.

Recently, Korea unveiled its 2025 Work Plan for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, South Korea. Some of the key highlights are:

The Four Major Reforms of Farming and Rural Areas to Promote the Growth of Rural Areas and the Agro-industry

1. An improvement to the farmland system.
2. Change the structure of the rice industry to prevent overproduction of rice, increase the production of high-quality rice, and promote consumption of rice.
3. Lay the foundation for food security.
4. Transform an agricultural corporation into an innovative business entity and expand support for young people returning to farming and rural areas.
5. Ensure that policies and regulations concerning entry of facilities into rural areas can be applied more extensively
6. Revitalize rural areas.

Four Major Initiatives to Turn Agriculture into a High-Growth Industry

1. Transform 20% of the entire greenhouse farms (approximately 55,000 hectares) into smart farms in 2025, up from 16% in 2024.
2. Take smart farming to another level by linking advanced technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence (AI), robotic technologies, etc.) and related forward- and backward-linked industries.
3. Invest KRW 121.2 billion in expanding an R&D and production infrastructure to accelerate the growth of emerging industries with forward and backward linkages with food-tech and green biotechnology sectors.
4. Make a large-scale R&D investment in new high-growth industries.
5. Implement an initiative to achieve KRW 14 billion in K-Food Plus exports.

Minister SONG Miryung said: “Since agriculture and rural areas directly affect the livelihood of people, the government’s policy is very important for the recovery of the household economy. This year, we will prioritize stabilizing the household economy and make intensive efforts to address challenges facing households and farmers in the first half of the year. And we will implement policies and measures for a brighter future of agriculture and rural areas as we have planned.”