Korea's agricultural outreach sees success in Asia, Africa

Korea's Rural Development Administration (RDA) has achieved significant successes with its overseas agricultural official development assistance projects, transforming long-standing challenges into sustainable food security solutions. These achievements include rice cultivation projects in Mongolia, various African nations, and Uzbekistan, where Korean agricultural technology is facilitating machinery and livestock exports.

In Mongolia, which has been entirely dependent on imports for the 50,000 tons of rice consumed annually, the RDA's Korea Program on International Agriculture has led to a historic milestone. For the first time in 2025, Mongolia achieved a successful domestic rice harvest, thanks to the introduction of an early-maturing Korean rice variety called "jinbuolbyeo."

Utilizing an innovative 40-day seedling technique and an early September harvest schedule tailored to Mongolia's brief growing season, test plots in Bulgan District, Khovd Province, yielded approximately 310 kilograms per 1,000 square meters.

This breakthrough not only demonstrated the viability of rice cultivation in Mongolia's challenging climate but also paved the way for the introduction of Korean irrigation systems and milling equipment.