On March 29, the 2013 School Farm program was officially launched. A total of 77 teams from the KAIST community are now able to cultivate any crops of their choice on their farmland for a year.

The farmland provided by KAIST is located behind Sejong Hall (E-8). The total size of the farmland is 1,400 square meters. Other than seeds and seedlings, water facilities, agricultural vinyl, fertilizer, and various farming utensils, such as hoe and shovel, were provided by the school for free.

In order to prevent possible pollution of the land, KAIST insisted that the teams try organic farming. Also, KAIST set several rules to avoid possible conflicts between the teams and the rest of KAIST community, since the 2013 School Farm program takes place on campus. The rules include banning of farming activities during late hours and banning of cultivating crops like corn and pumpkin that can potentially interfere with the growth of crops on other teams’ farmlands.

The registration period was open from March 18. Any team consisting of five or more members from KAIST was allowed to apply for the allotment. Each team had to fill out an application form and submit it to the Facilities Management Team by March 28 via email or fax. The process was done by a first-come-first-serve basis.

Unlike the original plan to allot the farmland to 70 teams, a total of 77 teams were accepted due to an unexpectedly high demand. 40 teams were from academic departments, laboratories, and clubs. The other 37 teams consist of faculty and staff.

So far, compost has been sprayed to the entire farmland, and agricultural implements and water facilities have been installed. Also, the fertilizers and agricultural vinyl could be found in the greenhouse located near Galilei Hall (W3), according to the facilities management team.

KAIST announced that 2013 School Farm program will “provide an opportunity to strengthen ties between KAIST members and promote a healthy physical and mental experience with nature in leisure.”