Customized Agricultural Technology Receives Overseas Applause... Good News of Commendation and Medal Awards

Overcoming Harsh Local Conditions to Transfer Customized Technology... Series of Meritorious News

[Jeonju=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Korea's overseas agricultural technology development project (KOPIA) and agricultural technology innovation are beginning to yield substantial results. Especially this year, a flood of meritorious news from overseas sites has been reported. These messages mainly express gratitude for overcoming harsh environments through R&D to establish a self-sufficiency foundation.

Recent good news from Cambodia is representative. On the 16th of last month, Kim Yonghwan, director of the KOPIA Cambodia Center, was awarded a medal by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the ‘2021 World Food Day’ event hosted by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Since 2018, Director Kim has passionately led the Korea-Cambodia agricultural technology cooperation project while operating the KOPIA Cambodia Center. In particular, he took the lead in developing Cambodia’s first single-cross hybrid corn variety and registering it as a new variety, thereby establishing a self-sufficiency base for corn seeds in Cambodia, which had previously relied entirely on imports.

Recently, a high-yield tropical-adapted white cocoon silkworm variety has been developed and is pending variety registration. Silk made from the high-yield white cocoon silkworm is easy to dye and process, and this variety registration is expected to be a groundbreaking opportunity to improve Cambodia’s silk self-sufficiency rate. In September, the capabilities and potential of K-agricultural technology were officially recognized by the international community. The ‘Africa Rice Development Partnership Project’ by KOPIA and the Korea-Africa Food and Agriculture Technology Cooperation Initiative (KAFACI) was selected as an excellent case of public sector government innovation hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Earlier in June, Heo Taewoong, Administrator of the Rural Development Administration, received the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Medal from Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Choi Manyoung, director of the KOPIA Mongolia Center, was awarded the Best Farmer Award by Mongolia’s Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry. In Vietnam, through the development, seed multiplication, and distribution of the disease-resistant peanut new variety ‘TK10’ suitable for the central region, peanut productivity improved by 21.7%, and farmers’ income increased by 60.8%. In Mongolia, Director Choi Manyoung, who has been working hard at the center since 2018, promoted the production and distribution of high-quality wheat seeds, a key issue in Mongolian agriculture, contributing to the distribution of 3,007 tons, equivalent to 10% of Mongolia’s seed demand. He also developed a customized total mixed ration (TMR) program, achieving a 1.3-fold increase in beef cattle weight.

The KOPIA Ecuador Center received a Poverty Eradication Award from the UN-affiliated Pacto Global Red Ecuador Network in October last year. Pacto Global was established in 2000 by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to promote corporate social responsibility, and currently, more than 9,500 companies are active. Pacto Global Red Ecuador awards commendations in 17 fields including poverty eradication, labor, education, and social service to over 50 organizations and individuals who have contributed to public social activities locally. The KOPIA Ecuador Center has focused on improving agricultural production capacity in developing countries, especially the poorest nations, through pilot village projects to increase potato productivity. Local potato yields are 12 tons per hectare, lower than the world average of 15 tons in neighboring countries such as Peru. The low seed potato distribution rate of 8% is the cause, and the center has been conducting customized cooperation projects since 2013, including seed potato tissue culture and hydroponic cultivation technology support.

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