As the global economy has started to worry about 'growth' and 'environment' at the same time, our administration has promoted 'Low Carbon, Green Growth' as the nation's future vision. Agriculture is not only an essential industry that supports food production for mankind's survival, but also it provides the appropriate roles for the protection of the environment and leads to establishing green industry to balance the environmental processes such as supplying oxygen and preserving ecosystem biodiversity.

Rural Development Administration(RDA) was established in 1962 as a matrix of encouragement model of industry, and it has contributed to the development of Korean Agriculture such as 'Green Revolution' for self-sufficiency in staple grains, and has led 'White Revolution' to enjoy fresh vegetables in four seasons. However, Korean agriculture has had a harder time than ever, under the rough agricultural market-opening pressure through FTA(Free Trade Agreement) after the Uruguay round came out.

Making a proactive stance, RDA has focused its effort on the improvement and advancement of Korean agriculture despite existence of non-favorable market environment and pressure.

NAS under RDA consists of 6 departments and 1 center, with 526 on the staff and serves for various research & development undertakings all over the country, guided by the national agricultural directions.

The Department of Agricultural Environment carries out the research for a maintenance and preservation of a sustainable agricultural production base and rural environment such as technology development for the management of agricultural resources(soil, nutrient, water), a countermeasure for climate change and a system for low-input, closed-loop, organic agricultural production, and generating income from agricultural environment resources and establishing a foundation of welfare for rural communities

The Department of Agricultural Biology enhances the competitiveness of industrial insects and agricultural microorganisms through the development and dissemination of technologies for using insects, sericulture, beekeeping, and agricultural microorganisms.

The Department of Agro-food Safety and Crop Protection makes an effort for development of management techniques for chemical and microbial safety, integrated pests & weeds management and risk assessment system of pesticides.

The Department of Agricultural Engineering performs automation and robotization for producing, processing, developments of renewable energy and energy saving technology, post-harvest quality management, storage, distribution technology, prevention technology for agricultural disasters, customized upland agricultural machines in response to the feminization and aging of rural labor and health and safety technology for farmers to reduce agricultural workload.

The Department of Agricultural Biotechnology is a leading national research and development institution to develop domestic agricultural biotechnology with state-of-the-art facilities for modern biotechnology. The department consists of four divisions: genetics, metabolic engineering, genetic engineering, and bio safety

The Department of Agro-food Resources makes the hardest effort in developing techniques for increasing farmers’ income and enhancing national health.

The National Agrobiodiversity Center sincerely carries out its own mission in applying natural specialty of diversified living things, and sustainable preservation of biological diversification, and collection and conservation of more than 266,649 accessions, making it ranked 5th in genetic resources conservation.

NAS will do its best as a leading organization of green growth and green techniques by realizing and promoting sustainable agriculture, and rural harmony for people and environment, to become as the world's best among high-technology agricultural development organizations.