A Study of Agricultural Development in Developing Countries: Current Status and Prospects of Open-Field Farming and Greenhouse Hydroponics in Mongolia

Agricultural development has been a goal in developing countries for the past few decades, but it has been prioritized lower than manufacturing.Thus, rural areas became poorer and farmers are still stuck in subsistence farming.To get out of hunger and poverty and to improve rural living conditions, it is necessary to increase the production of grains and vegetables, but related policies are often not properly formulated.High-yielding seeds must be introduced, irrigation and fertilizer must be improved, and infrastructures must be mechanized and digitized to improve agriculture and rural development.Such new activities can be achieved through appropriate governmental policies and incentives, cooperation between community people, and partnerships with international agencies and developed countries.Of course, each country has different agricultural and economic conditions, and policies are needed for each situation.This study tries to analyze Mongolia's agriculture and suggests policy directions, especially through the performance of Handong Global University's UNITWIN and Mongsfarm projects.In Mongolia, which has an unfavorable climate, innovative agriculture such as greenhouse farming, hydroponics, and smart farming should be adopted to increase agricultural products and reduce agricultural imports.To do so, it would be necessary to introduce and implement smart and digitized farming, farmer training, and confidence building, create farmers associations, and provide various incentives such as lower taxes, low-interest loans for farmers, and ensuring collaboration with international agencies and NGOs.