KRCC to expand agricultural development business in overseas
An aerial view of a dam construction in Oromia, Ethiopia / Courtesy of the Korea Rural Community Corporation
By Kim Jae-heun
The Korea Rural Community Corporation (KRCC) has achieved significant results overseas this year after successfully signing two agricultural development agreements in Malawi and Ethiopia.
According to the corporation, the size of the project to develop a farming system in Malawi is equivalent to 3.4 percent of the country's gross domestic product for a year.
The other project in Ethiopia provides consultation and supervision on the construction of an underground water irrigation and agricultural system there worth 130 billion won.
The KRCC's overseas business began in 1967 when it dispatched a Korean agricultural mission to Vietnam and participated in a pilot project to develop an agricultural system in the Go Cong District.
As of last year, the corporation had won bids for 185 projects in 49 countries, making about 340.3 billion won. This year it is working to sign 40 deals in 19 countries.
Most of the projects the KRCC has developed were concentrated in Southeast Asia until the early 2000s, but since then it has expanded its reach to Africa and Latin America.
Overseas projects carried out by the KRCC are now classified into three types depending on their purpose and method of participation.
First, overseas technology service projects are ordered by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank through international bidding. The KRCC completed 159 projects in 35 countries as of last year, and this year the corporation is participating in 21 projects in 13 countries.
Second, international agricultural cooperation projects have been carried out as part of official development assistance (ODA) since 2006 to support developing countries solve their agricultural problems and become self-reliant. The KRCC joined 28 projects in 16 countries up to 2019 and is participating in 17 projects in 9 countries in 2020.
Third, its overseas business expansion project supporting local firms to advance into global markets has helped 187 companies develop farmlands in 29 countries that harvest 780,000 tons of grain including soybeans, corn and wheat.
The corporation predicts natural disasters from floods and drought around the world as well as the spread of COVID-19 and steady increase in rice consumption in developing countries in Asia and Africa will serve as a new turning point for its agricultural and fisheries exports.
The overseas market for agricultural resources grew to 8.6 trillion won as of last year and the demand for Korea's technical skills in agriculture and civil engineering has been rising steadily.