Ulsan City Becomes First Local Government to Win UN Food and Agriculture Organization Partnership Award

by Jo Chunghyeon

Published 11 Jun.2024 08:55(KST)

Updated 03 Aug.2025 18:33(KST)

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South Korea's First and Historic Local Government First!

On the 11th, Ulsan City was selected as the winner in the Partnership category at the FAO Awards held in Rome, Italy.

This awards ceremony was part of the 175th session of the FAO Council, held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Ulsan City Hall

In the Partnership category, the city was selected as a joint winner along with the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) from the United Kingdom. This marks the first time in history that a local government, rather than a research institution, has received this award in Korea.

The city received high praise for implementing a number of international development cooperation (ODA) projects, such as contributing 100 million KRW to the Ukraine Fund in December 2022, fostering young talent for international development cooperation, and running urban forest training programs.

In particular, Ulsan City plans to donate a total of $10,000?combining the $5,000 prize money from this award with an additional $5,000 from its own budget?to countries struggling with food issues.

An Hyodae, Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs, said, "We will strengthen our partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and do our utmost to promote sustainable agricultural development and global food security."

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency under the United Nations established to eradicate hunger, improve nutrition, and alleviate food insecurity.

The FAO Awards, launched in 2021, aim to encourage responses to the global food crisis and international food security issues, and to promote innovation in the fields of agriculture and food. The awards consist of four categories: Partnership, Innovation, Achievement, and Champion.