By Ryu Chang-gi
A Congolese agriculture expert is raising the flag to develop rural areas of the African country, by mimicking the Korean new village m ovement (Saemaul Movement) that revolutionized the country here in the 70s.
Gaston Kapuku Mudi - panu, a professor at the University of Kinshasa in DR Congo (former Zaire), cited the need for the Congolese government to increase the budget for farmers to efficiently establish an organization, emulating the Rural Development Administration (RDA) of Korea.
“I feel South Korea is my second home, Congo will accept the dynamic Korean development model, by educating the Congolese human resources,” He said.
Prof. Kapuku is the representative pro-Korean in Congo. He studied Korean to follow lessons for seven years in Seoul. The Ministry of Education, Science, Technology of Korea gave the scholarship to him in 1984. He obtained his Ph. D on international development from Seoul National University in 1991.
He is now gathering the materials on Korean education to teach the Korean language to Congolese students in Kinshasa.
“Although South Korea was poor country in 1960s, now Koreans prove their potential, showing their diligence. I want to send the Congolese students, after teaching Koreans, to learn about Korean’s cheer-up culture for national development,” He said.
“I have seen several international aid agencies like the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and USAID in Kinshasa, which have previously worked with Africa for only three or four years. In contrast, Koreans currently operate a joint agricultural project semi-permanently,” Kapuku said, in an email interview with The Korea Times.
The Congolese extension specialist on agriculture studied local community development at Seoul National University in 2006.
“It seems that many Congolese farmers feel the heart to heart hospitality of Korean researchers.” He said the most important thing is “motivation.” “I believe the Congolese agricultural system should educate farmers to solve starvation, extending agricultural technology all over the village like Korea,” he commented.
According to the Food Agriculture Organization, over the past 30 years, western countries have donated $ 1.3 trillion to Africa, but there are still many Africans suffering from hunger.
The Bureau of International Development of RDA in Korea has only $10 billion as an annual budget for direct assistance to African farmers.
Lee Dong-hyuk, director of the international research and development team of RDA, explained Korean aid is different in that it teaches the know-how to catch a fish, not just for free.
“Not only in Congo, but also in Kenya, Algeria, and Ethiopia, the RDA of Korea establishes the Korea Overseas on International Agriculture (KOPIA) center to boost sustainable international cooperation in the agriculture sector through joint development,” he said.
The KOPIA center in Algeria also received attention with seed potato technology, which is resistant to virus, and mountain rice, which can be planted without water.
Since it was founded in 1962, RDA has made great contributions to solving the chronic spring famine through ‘Green Revolution (Self-sufficiency of rice)’ in the 1970s and 1980s.
Through global cooperation, RDA broadened its cooperation base with developing countries.