Breeding and Production Research Direction for Soybean Self-Sufficiency Improvement in Korea

Recently, soybean production and market price are unstable, even if demand of soybean is maintained. Diverse conditions such as climate change, a decrease in rural population, and consuming affect food industry. In this situation, food security is soaring as important key-word again, and MAFRA is promoting policies for improving soybean self-sufficiency with the goal of 40% until 2030. The point of policy is to extend a production and stabilize a demand for soybean with supporting large-scale soybean paddy-field complex. According to the background, soybean breeding and production research in NICS are proceeded with three parts. First, production improvement with soybean cultivation land enlargement and high-yield cultivar development. Various growth period soybean cultivars for double cropping, irrigation management technologies in paddy field, and hyper-yield and specific-region adaptable cultivar development. Second, reduction of production expense with mechanized cultivation and digital-based field management technologies. Third, consumer-friendly and high quality soybeans with high protein cultivar for alternative protein usage and high food process-ability for soy milk, tofu, soybean sprouts, and grain usage. Each part need to be combined and advanced to improve soybean industry and soybean self-sufficiency.