K-Rice 100,000 Tons Support for Refugees and Vulnerable Groups in Food Crisis Countries

Commemorative Event for the First Year of Doubling Food Aid Scale at Gunsan Port

100,000 tons of Korean rice will be provided to refugees and nutritionally vulnerable groups in 11 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

On the 17th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that it held a departure ceremony at Gunsan Port, Jeonbuk, to commemorate the first year of doubling the scale of food aid through the United Nations World Food Programme.

This departure ceremony marked the first year of doubling the amount of food aid from 50,000 tons to 100,000 tons starting this year, and expanding the supported countries to 11, including those in Africa, as a follow-up measure to last year's Group of Seven (G7) summit.

Korea has been a member of the United Nations Food Aid Convention since 2018 and has provided 50,000 tons of rice annually to five countries in Africa and elsewhere. This year, excluding Laos, the support will expand to 11 countries, including five African countries, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, providing 100,000 tons of rice to support approximately 2.6 million refugees and nutritionally vulnerable groups suffering from hunger over three months.

The 15,000 tons of rice loaded at Gunsan Port on this day will depart for Bangladesh on July 3 and will be supplied from August to Rohingya refugees (1.16 million people) in Cox's Bazar and the Bashan region. Additionally, 85,000 tons of rice will be shipped sequentially to the 11 countries by the end of June from Mokpo, Ulsan, and Busan New Port.

Alongside this, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is also promoting the K-Rice Belt project, which establishes rice seed production complexes in African countries struggling with rice production shortages to produce high-yield rice seeds and distribute them to farmers.

Minister Song Mi-ryeong of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs stated, "Korea is the only country in the world that has developed from a food aid recipient to a donor within half a century. We will continue to expand not only food aid but also the K-Rice Belt project to fulfill our role and responsibilities as a member of the international community."