The 10th FANEA international symposium was held on June 12, 2014 at the Korea Rural Economic Institute. Six papers were presented and discussions ensued among experts from Korea, China and Japan on the theme of “The Sixth Industrialization of Agriculture and the Creation of New Value in the Agricultural Industry.”

 From the Korean side, President Choi Sei-kyun of the Korea Rural Economic Institute and five researchers from the institute participated in the event as a moderator, a speaker and discussants. China and Japan also took part with six and seven members. Among them were Qin Fu, Director General of the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development (Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences) and Yoshimura Kaoru, Director General of Japan's Policy Research Institute (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries).

 The three institutions decided to perform the joint study on the sixth industrialization of agriculture in Korea, China and Japan from December 2013 to June 2014, and published a report of the three countries’ research results through this symposium.

 In all the three nations, rural areas’ negative changes, including the aging and decreasing population and the widening urban-rural income gap, have become an obstacle to vitalizing the areas, although the degree and the period are different. To slow or reverse this phenomenon, it was agreed that the revitalization of the regional economy and the development of specialized local industries should be strengthened through the sixth industrialization centered on agriculture. Based on this awareness, the three countries analyzed cases through joint research, drew vitalization plans given each nation’s policy environment, and shared the results in this FANEA symposium. It is especially evaluated to be very meaningful that the sixth industrialization plans were drawn from each nation’s new viewpoint. Korea also seems to be able to seek for ways to invigorate the domestic sixth industry through implications and policy tasks drawn from an analysis of the three countries’ support policies and cases of the sixth industrialization of agriculture and rural areas.

 Prior to the seminar, the heads of the three institutes who highly appreciated the outcomes of the joint study had discussions on how to conduct joint research and promote research cooperation and human exchanges among them for next year’s symposium. They also had a discussion on the theme of the 11th FANEA symposium and tentatively set the main theme as “Remote Areas Development and Agricultural Policy Assessment.” Next year’s symposium will be hosted in China, and Hainan and Yunnan provinces were selected as candidates given Beijing’s weather conditions in summer. The concrete schedule and venue will be discussed later.

 The 10th FANEA international symposium is expected to contribute to promoting the three institutes’ increased mutual understanding and personal exchanges and strengthening internationalization capabilities and cooperation by actively conducting joint and comparative studies on the common interests.