National Institute of Agricultural Sciences

What National Institute of Agricultural Sciences does

The National Institute of Agricultural Sciences (NAS) is a government research institute of the Republic of Korea, operating under the Rural Development Administration (RDA) within the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Founded in 1962 as the Institute of Plant Environment and reorganized multiple times through 2023, NAS is headquartered in Wanju-gun, Jeonbuk-do (Jeonju Innovation City) with 526 research staff organized into 6 departments and 1 center covering Agricultural Environment, Agricultural Biology, Agro-Food Safety and Crop Protection, Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Biotechnology, and the National Agrobiodiversity Center. Core infrastructure includes the National Agrobiodiversity Center with over 266,649 genetic accessions ranked 5th globally, the National Agricultural Biotechnology Information Center (NABIC) managing 5.35 million records and 54.72 TB of public data, the Agricultural Biotechnology Supercomputing Center (HPC ranked 339th globally with NABIS2 at 69,696 cores and 372 TB memory), and the National Crop Phenomics Center designated as a national standard reference data center.

NAS produces a portfolio of platforms and systems including the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Management System, Carbon Footprint Calculation Program covering 62 crop types, the LMO Risk Assessment Management System, the Nongsaro agricultural technology portal, soil information systems (흙토람), agricultural weather services (농업날씨365), the Korean Agricultural Culture Collection (KACC) with 25,900+ microbial cultures, and AI-enabled smart farm technologies including disease diagnosis, autonomous pest control robots, and AI-powered irrigation systems. Operationally, NAS holds exclusive government mandate for LMO risk assessment, national greenhouse gas inventory in agriculture, and crop phenomics standards.

NAS operates entirely on government R&D budget funding administered through the RDA and generates no commercial revenue; research outputs and technologies are disseminated to farmers and agricultural management entities through local government extension centers at no direct cost. International engagement occurs through MOUs with FAO/GCDT and Bioversity International as Center of Excellence for International Cooperation and Training on Plant Genetic Resources, plus APEC and FAO multilateral cooperation projects.

Name

National Institute of Agricultural Sciences

Legal name

National Institute of Agricultural Sciences

Website

https://naas.go.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The National Institute of Agricultural Sciences is a Korean government research institute under the Rural Development Administration that conducts agricultural R&D across genetics, biotechnology, environment, and food safety, serving farmers, extension centers, and international partners through government-funded technology dissemination.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Research and Development Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Science, Technology & Innovation Administration (National R&D Policy) (BPAIAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Farm Data Management & Decision Support Services (FMIS Setup, Data Integration, Analytics) (AFACACAC), Field Mapping, GIS & Digital Agronomy (Zoning, Prescription Maps, Yield Maps, Spatial Analytics) (AFAGALAG), Pest/Disease/Weed Detection & Forecasting Analytics (AFABAMAI), Interoperability & Data Connectivity Services (API/ETL, ISOXML/AgGateway, Equipment Data Sync) (AFACACAL)

Keywords

• Agricultural research
• Crop genetic resources
• Smart farming technology
• Agricultural biotechnology
• Agrobiodiversity conservation

Headquarters

HQ city

Jeonju

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Funding / Public R&D Budget: As a government research institute under the Rural Development Administration, NAS operates entirely on public funding. Research is funded through national agricultural R&D budgets and does not generate commercial revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The National Institute of Agricultural Sciences (NAS) is a government research institute under Korea's Rural Development Administration that conducts agricultural R&D across six specialized departments (Agricultural Environment, Agricultural Biology, Agro-Food Safety and Crop Protection, Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Biotechnology) and the National Agrobiodiversity Center. It operates supercomputing infrastructure (NABIS with 11,040 cores and NABIS2 with 69,696 cores), manages over 266,649 genetic resource accessions, and provides digital platforms including the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Management System, LMO Risk Assessment System, and the Nongsaro agricultural technology portal.

Product overview

The National Institute of Agricultural Sciences (NAS) operates as a comprehensive agricultural R&D organization under Korea's Rural Development Administration, comprising 6 departments and 1 center. The institute offers multiple digital platforms and systems including the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Management System and Carbon Performance Calculation Program for environmental assessment, the LMO Risk Assessment Management System for genetically modified organisms, and the agricultural technology portal 농사로 (Nongsaro). Key research infrastructure includes the National Agrobiodiversity Center managing 266,649+ genetic accessions, the National Agricultural Biotechnology Information Center (NABIC) with petabyte-scale agricultural omics data, and the Agricultural Biotechnology Supercomputing Center (ranked 339th globally). The institute also provides soil information (흙토람), agricultural weather (농업날씨365), farmer safety (농업인안전365), and seed banking services. Research divisions cover agricultural environment, biology, food safety, engineering, and biotechnology with specific focus on climate change response, smart farming automation, and genomic technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Greenhouse Gas Inventory Management System Agricultural greenhouse gas emission calculation system that allows users to estimate emissions based on activity data, supporting calculation for base year and two preceding years.
• Carbon Footprint Calculator for Agricultural Products Comprehensive carbon footprint calculation tool covering 62 crop types (vegetables, fruits, grains, mushrooms) with inputs for fertilizers, crop protection products, fuel, electricity, and other materials across cultivation and distribution stages.
• LMO Risk Assessment Management System Risk assessment management system for Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) used in agriculture, forestry, and livestock sectors, providing online application submission for LMO risk assessment.
• National Agrobiodiversity Center (NAC) Manages agricultural genetic resources including collection, preservation, regeneration, and evaluation, maintaining 266,649+ accessions ranked 5th globally, and operates as a Northeast Asia Seed Hub with FAO-certified World Seed Vault.
• Korean Agricultural Culture Collection (KACC) National microbial resource collection holding over 25,900 microorganism cultures, distributing approximately 4,000 cultures annually to research institutions, and providing patent organism deposition services.
• National Agricultural Biotechnology Information Center (NABIC) Bioinformatics service platform providing agricultural biotechnology research support, operating high-performance computing infrastructure (NABIS with 11,040 CPU cores; NABIS2 with 69,696 CPU cores), and managing 5,352,748 public data records totaling 54.72 TB.
• National Crop Phenomics Center National standard reference data center providing phenotyping technology for measuring seed traits, growth, and drought tolerance, including a rice genome editing population for functional analysis.
• Nongsaro Agricultural Portal Comprehensive agricultural technology portal providing access to agricultural machinery information, insect specimen collections, crop disease information, rural resources, weed information, organic farming guidance, and national agricultural heritage data.
• Smart Farm 2nd Generation Technology AI-based disease diagnosis and intelligent greenhouse management technology with automated disease/insect/physiological disorder diagnosis using monitoring robots for tomatoes, strawberries, and bell peppers.
• Agricultural Greenhouse Pest Control Robot Autonomous agricultural robot for greenhouse pest control with driving precision of less than 3cm error, maximum working time of more than 8 hours, and SIL (Safety Integrity Level) 2 controller.
• Seed Bank / Genebank Distribution Service National genetic resource repository for seeds and planting materials, providing germplasm collection, preservation, and distribution services to researchers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Smart irrigation system increased crop yields by 19-40% and saved 10-31% irrigation water for apple and peach; increased tomato yield by 24% with 3.2x water productivity improvement
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability11 records

Feature13 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IPGRI (International Plant Genetic Resources Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 March 2009MOU signed on March 27, 2009 between RDA and IPGRI for international cooperation on plant genetic resources, genebank management, and cryopreservation technology development.
• Bioversity International (formerly IPGRI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2008MOU signed in December 2008 establishing RDA's role as Center of Excellence for International Cooperation and Training in Plant Genetic Resources. Bioversity recognizes RDA's strong capacity and supports the establishment of an International Center for Cryopreservation R&D. International training courses on plant genetic resource and genebank management strengthen capabilities of many countries.
• FAO/GCDT (Global Crop Diversity Trust)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 August 2008MOU between RDA and FAO/GCDT on August 14, 2008 for long-term conservation and availability of plant genetic resources. NAS hosts safety backup collections from other countries free of charge under black box conditions covered by mutual agreement. RDA also designated as Center of Excellence for International Cooperation and Training in Plant Genetic Resources.
• Partner Countries via APEC and Multilateral FrameworkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational Agricultural Technology Cooperation Project (IATCP) implements multilateral cooperation through APEC and other international frameworks. Each country drafts a Letter of Agreement (LOA) and Technical Cooperation Project (TCP) plan. Project cost remittance and execution managed by Operational Support Department.
• Chonnam National UniversityminorOthersListed as a partner university under the National University link site category for research collaboration and academic exchange.
• Seoul National UniversityminorOthersListed as a partner university under the National University link site category for research collaboration and academic exchange.
• Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Research & Extension link site. KREI is a key government research institute focused on agricultural and rural economics, collaborating with NAS on agricultural policy research and economic analysis.
• Korea Food Research Institute (KFRI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Research & Extension link site. KFRI collaborates with NAS on food safety research, agricultural product processing, and related biotechnologies.
• National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science (NIHHS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister institute under the Rural Development Administration (RDA). Collaborates with NAS on horticultural and herbal science research, sharing resources and expertise within the RDA network.
• National Institute of Crop Science (NICS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister institute under the Rural Development Administration (RDA). Collaborates with NAS on crop science research, sharing resources and expertise within the RDA network.
• National Institute of Animal Science (NIAS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister institute under the Rural Development Administration (RDA). Collaborates with NAS on animal science research within the comprehensive RDA research network.
• Provincial Agricultural Research & Extension Services (ARES)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChungcheongnam-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, Jeollanam-do Agricultural Research & Extension Services listed as Research & Extension partners. NAS works with these regional centers to disseminate technologies and implement pilot projects.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• INRAE (France): France's national research institute for agriculture, food, and environment, employing ~10,000 staff. Comparable to NAS as a publicly funded, multi-disciplinary agricultural research organization with environmental and biotechnology portfolios.
• Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR): Apex body coordinating agricultural research, education, and extension across India. Comparable as a national-scale agricultural R&D and extension organization with similar government-agency mandate structure.
• CGIAR / International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT): Global agricultural research consortium operating international genebanks (including the Svalbard Vault partnership). Comparable for the genetic-resource, genebank-management, and international cooperation dimensions of NAS's work.
• USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS): The principal in-house research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture with thousands of scientists across hundreds of locations. Closest international analogue to NAS in mandate (national agricultural R&D), scale, and role as a federal science provider.
• Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS): China's national agricultural R&D body covering crop science, biotechnology, agro-environment, and food safety. Comparable as a large government agricultural research institute in the Asia-Pacific region with overlapping disciplinary coverage.

Direct peers

• National Institute of Crop Science (NICS): Sibling institute under Korea's RDA that focuses on crop science R&D including variety development and cultivation technology. Directly comparable as a sister national agricultural R&D body sharing infrastructure, budget pools, and policy oversight with NAS.
• Rothamsted Research: The world's oldest agricultural research station (UK), focused on crop science, soils, and agroecology. Comparable to NAS as a long-established public-sector agricultural research institution with strong government funding and a multidisciplinary portfolio.
• National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science (NIHHS): Another RDA sibling institute specializing in horticultural and herbal crops. Comparable in mandate, funding source, and operational scale, with overlapping coverage of agricultural biology and biotechnology.
• NARO (Japan): Japan's National Agriculture and Food Research Organization covering crop, livestock, and agri-environment R&D. Closely comparable peer for NAS given similar national-mandate agricultural R&D mission in a neighboring advanced Asian economy.

Emerging players

• Climate Corporation (Bayer): Digital agriculture platform offering farm data management, decision support, and predictive analytics. Adjacent competitor to NAS's smart-farming/decision-support offerings via the Nongsaro portal, representing the private-sector model that could displace public extension services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@NAS_SINCE1949
• Facebookfacebook.com/koreanaas1
• Xx.com/naasstory

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Institute of Agricultural Sciences