Article at a Glance

Driven by an unwavering determination to innovate agriculture—one of the oldest and most outdated industries—what is the secret behind Rokya’s growth as it has restructured the supply chain and pricing order of domestic agricultural products over the past 14 years without experiencing even a single year of negative growth?

1. It has become a company that most deeply understands Korean agriculture by resolving the difficulties of farmers suffering from low productivity and unstable household incomes while remaining grounded in the field.

2. It has become a company strong in B2B business by positioning itself as a problem-solver during critical moments when corporate supply and demand face disruptions and by keeping promises with customers under any circumstances.

3. It recognized that the success or failure of the contract farming system depends on accurate prediction of agricultural product prices and utilized data and AI as tools for agricultural innovation from an early stage.

4. It stepped out of its safety zone to continuously take on challenges while learning from failures, focusing on its strengths and finding optimal partners to complement its weaknesses.

---

Population decline, aging, and climate change. Which industry is taking a direct hit from these social problems that have emerged as ticking time bombs for humanity’s future? While there may be several candidates, it would be difficult for anyone to raise objections to the fact that agriculture—on the edge of a cliff— stands at the forefront of this crisis. Rural areas from which population has drained away, aging and small-scale farms, and increasingly unpredictable climate are shaking up the growth and harvest of agricultural products, threatening the sustainability of agriculture. Farmers are crying out “We really can’t make a living at this anymore,” while consumers sigh day after day over soaring food prices at the dinner table.

There is someone who has been obsessed with agricultural innovation for 14 years, from his youth in his 20s to now in his 40s, while contemplating the future of Korea’s aging and declining agriculture. That person is none other than Kwon Min-soo (43), CEO of the agtech (AgTech, convergence of agriculture and IT) startup “Rokya.” He embarked on entrepreneurship with the aspiration to break rigid distribution systems, transcend the inefficient structure centered on small-scale farming, and become a company like New Zealand’s Zespri or America’s Sunkist that conquered the world with a single agricultural product. It was a bold aspiration to write a success story through variety improvement, scientific cultivation and distribution, and thorough quality and brand management, just like these two global brands that globalized kiwis and oranges under their respective names.

인기기사