Posted on July, 4, 2023 at 08:51 am
The Korean government will invite ministers from eight African countries to Seoul, July 10, for a meeting about the "K-Rice Belt," the agriculture ministry said Monday. The Korea-led initiative is part of the official development assistance (ODA) program introduced to help countries struggling with a lack of agricultural infrastructure, compounded by geographical and other limitations unfavorable to growing crops.
Korea will share knowledge and experience on enhancing rice productivity and farming technology so that African countries can grow a variety of crops developed by organizations affiliated with Korea's agriculture ministry. Korea will discuss ways to help African peers build critical agriculture infrastructure.
The participating countries are Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Uganda, Cameroon and Kenya.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said next week's meeting will be held to bolster ties to strengthen friendships between Korea and the participating countries, as mediated by rice.
The ministers will sign memorandums of understanding (MOU) on ways to meet the specific needs of each country factoring in their unique conditions.
The ministry said the African ministers will take a tour of Korea's farming equipment manufacturing sites, rice processing plants and smart farms, to fine-tune joint growth strategies for a presentation at next year's Korea-Africa special summit.
"Korea's agricultural technology can help African countries achieve sustainable food security," the ministry said. "We are looking forward to next week's meeting where in-depth discussions will be held to produce a long-term mutually beneficial outcome."
Fortifying cooperation with African countries was part of the ministry's key policy directives announced in January.
Other directives included fostering global cooperation with key grain-producing countries, as underpinned by efforts to diversify trade partner countries in Central and South America.
Korea will launch a minister-chaired special taskforce to help it achieve $10 billion (13 trillion won) in agricultural exports this year, promoting IT-mediated smart farming technologies and the capabilities of strong local players. The goal is to push the figure up further to $15 billion in 2027.
Source: The Korea Times