Recently, S&L Ventures participated as dutch partner in the “Global Smart Farm Expert Special Lecture,” held to celebrate the milestone of 1,000 graduates from Korea’s Smart Farm Youth Entrepreneurship Incubation Center.

This program was not simply about introducing advanced smart farming technologies from the Netherlands. It was an opportunity to discuss practical issues that matter in real farm operations—including energy efficiency, data, artificial intelligence, and farm management—and to consider how these insights could be connected to the realities of Korean agriculture and young farmers.

Throughout the program, S&L Ventures played a role in connecting the agricultural sectors of Korea and the Netherlands.

We supported communication and program coordination so that the experiences of Dutch experts would not remain distant overseas success stories, but could instead be understood and considered in relation to the circumstances of young Korean farmers. Creating opportunities for promising Korean agricultural technologies and companies to connect with the Dutch and wider European markets is also an important part of the role S&L Ventures aims to continue.

I joined the program as a young person who hopes to operate my own farm in the future.

One of the most memorable sessions for me was a lecture by Mike, a young Dutch grower who manages a cucumber greenhouse in the Netherlands.

When I thought about Dutch agriculture, I usually pictured advanced greenhouses and high productivity. However, after hearing about the realities on the ground, I learned that high facility costs and labor expenses make it difficult for young people to enter the agricultural sector.

Listening to the discussion about high labor and production costs reminded me that farming is not only about growing crops well. It is also a business that requires farmers to think about technology, costs, contracts, distribution, and sales at the same time.

It also encouraged me to look at Korea’s agricultural environment from a different perspective.

Korean agriculture still faces many challenges, but there are education and incubation programs for young farmers, smart farm training programs, and policies that support agricultural entrepreneurship. To me, the milestone of 1,000 graduates represented more than just a number. It felt like 1,000 possibilities created for young people to find a path into agriculture.

Rather than simply following the Dutch model, I believe Korea needs to build its own agricultural competitiveness based on its unique conditions. Young farmers can make use of existing support programs, take advantage of the relatively close distance between production areas and consumers, and communicate the value and stories behind agricultural products through content and branding.

At the same time, I wished there had been more time to discuss how the Dutch cases presented during the lectures could be applied to Korea’s agricultural environment and to individual farms.

A follow-up program in which experts and young farmers could explore practical solutions based on specific crops and farm sizes would make these insights even more useful.

For me, this program was not about simply admiring Dutch agriculture.

Instead, it gave me an opportunity to reconsider what possibilities I have as someone preparing to farm in Korea, and how I can make better use of those opportunities.

S&L Ventures will continue connecting people, technologies, agricultural fields, and markets between Korea and the Netherlands, while creating opportunities for practical and meaningful collaboration.