Rda Spreads Agricultural Know-how on Three Continents

The Rural Development Administration (RDA), the state-run agricultural research institute, has been operating three consultative groups for Asia, Africa and South America to offer more tailored, field-oriented help to farmers there.

The agency, which has been sharing its agricultural know-how and expertise with developing nations for years, established the Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (AFACI) in November 2009 as a consultative body with 11 Asian nations. It now has 12 members after Kyrgyzstan joined in April last year.

In July 2010, RDA launched the Korea-Africa Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (KAFACI) with 19 countries across the continent.

In September last year, it also formed the Korea-Latin America Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (KoLFACI) with its counterparts in 13 South American nations.

"We have set up technical consultative groups for each of the three continents to provide more region-specific technical support," an RDA spokesman said. "Each region has different needs from us because climate and other growing conditions are different from one another. The three multilateral bodies have raised Korea's profile as a leader in agriculture across the developing world."

Through the AFACI, the RDA has been helping its Asian partners boost their agricultural productivity. RDA researchers train farmers in host nations on how to control pests more effectively, reinforce irrigation facilities and breed more disease-resistant, high-yield crop seeds.

"We have transferred techniques and know-how to our Asian counterparts to enable them to increase yields and achieve a sustainable agricultural industry," he said. "Kyrgyzstan joined the AFACI in 2014 and many more countries want to become members. This proves that we have made a difference for them."

Countries AFACI has helped include the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Thailand. In addition, the RDA...