농식품분야 생명산업 현황 및 발전방향

Abstract

생명산업은 고령화시대에 대응한 국민 건강 및 복지 향상, 농업, 환경, 에너지 문제 등을 해결해 줄 수 있는 성장 가능한 산업이다. 생명산업의 발전을 위해서는 기존의 농업기반기술과 생명공학기술이 접목되어야 하며, 생명자원을 담당하고 있는 농업의 중요성이 부각되어야 한다.

그럼에도 불구하고 지식경제부에서 다루고 있는 생명산업은 제조업 중심으로 농업의 역할을 과소평가되고 있다. 생명산업에서 이용되고 있는 소재가 대부분 농산물에서 추출되고 있는데 농업관련 종자, 작물, 축산업, 화훼, 수산업 등 1차산업이 모두 제외되어 있다.

따라서 이 연구에서는 생명산업의 범위에 1차산업을 포함하여 농업중심으로 그 범위를 확대하여 농업의 역할과 중요성을 부각시켰다. 생명산업의 발전은 농업의 발전, 더 나아가 농업소득 증대와 연계하기 위해 농업을 중심으로 생명산업의 분류를 새롭게 시도하였다.

농업 생산물을 농업에 이용하는 생명산업(농생명 식량산업), 농업 생산물을 비농업에 이용하는 생명산업(농생명 소재산업), 비농업 생산물을 농업에 이용하는 생명산업(농생명지원 식량산업), 비농업 생산물을 비농업에 이용하는 생명산업(농생명지원 소재산업)으로 분류하여 농업이 생명산업에서 주된 역할을 담당하고 있음을 밝혔다.

이 연구는 생명산업 영역에서 농식품분야의 위치를 파악하고, 생명산업에서 농업의 역할 등을 제시하였다.

Background of Research Agriculture plays a major role in bioindustry in that most of the essential raw materials that are used for development of the industry are extracted from by-products of agriculture. The main goal of this research is to identify the status of bioindustry in the agri-food sector, analyze investment and market size, technology level and technology development trends and suggest ways of developing bioindustry in the agri-food sector.

Method of Research Bioindustry in the agri-food sector can be classified into four industry branches: Agro-Green Industry, Agro-Blue Industry, Fusion Agro-Green Industry, and Fusion Agro-Blue Industry. Also, an economic analysis was carried out using a variety of analytical methods such as Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP) and the Delphi technique.

Research Results and Implications The types of investment in bioindustry in agriculture vary among government departments. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology invests mostly in industry infrastructure, whereas the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy are focused on investing in industry applications and production. The total market size of bioindustry in the agri-food sector increased 14% in 2010 from 2008. Also, the technology level of 7 industries promoted by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries stands at about 66~68% level of developed countries and it is expected to increase to 80~82% level in 2014. According to the biotechnology patent activity index, the technology level jumped to the eighth place globally in 2010 from the 15th ranking in 1990. Also, a total of 93 agricultural patents were issued in 2010 by the Korean Intellectual Property Office and this represents a growth of almost six times from 1990. It was also found that bioindustry in the agri-food sector has great ripple effects. The market size is huge and the effects on inducing production and creating added value and jobs are also enormous. According to an AHP analysis conducted among experts, it was found that priority strategies for development of bioindustry in the agri-food sector are as follows, in order of urgency: bioindustry-related technology development(0.57), improvement of legal system and policy (0.29) and market expansion(0.15). First, the technology development of bioindustry should be focused on development of bio-resource application technology, development of evaluation capacity in association with bio-safety and bio-efficacy, development of technology related to analysis and use of genetic information, and development of genetic modification technology. In addition, bioindustry is a labor-intensive industry and thus it requires relatively skilled workers. Second, related laws and institutions should be improved to be in tune with the changing times. The work-overlapping problem is serious among different government ministries, and for this reason role division and collaboration of related ministries should be expanded to solve the problem. In conclusion, the top priority of the government should be placed on creating a favorable business environment for investors and on advancing commercialization of the technology and marketing of the product.

Researchers: Yean-Jung Kim, Hye-Sung Han. E-mail address: yjkim@krei.re.kr, funny1978@krei.re.kr.