Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Announces the 1st Comprehensive Plan for International Agricultural Cooperation Projects (2025-2029)
More Than 10 Overseas Expansion Models for Korean Companies Based on ODA to Be Developed
The government has decided to expand the number of agricultural official development assistance (ODA) partner countries to 50 by 2029 and to discover more than 10 cooperation models.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced the "1st Comprehensive Plan for International Agricultural Cooperation Projects (2025?2029)" containing these details on the 11th.
To achieve this goal, the comprehensive plan presents four major strategies: ▲ strengthening upstream and downstream industry cooperation to enhance project outcomes and establish a foundation for agri-food exports ▲ expanding and diversifying international agricultural cooperation projects ▲ reinforcing self-reliance through full-cycle support of the agricultural value chain ▲ and strengthening project implementation systems and organizational capabilities.
First, more than 10 collaboration models between international organizations, companies, non-profit organizations, and governments will be discovered over the next five years. By activating the participation of companies in international agricultural cooperation projects, the plan aims to secure sustainability of project outcomes and reduce risks while expanding achievements through collaboration with international organizations that have close local networks and rich project experience.
Support will also be provided to expand the participation of Korean companies in international agricultural cooperation projects. A permanent public-private cooperation channel will be established to jointly discover public-private cooperation models based on corporate demand. Additionally, systematic provision of related information and consulting will be made to enable Korean companies to participate in international organization projects, and strategic support such as market research, operation of exhibition fields, and promotion will be provided to help upstream and downstream industry companies, including agricultural machinery companies, enter overseas markets in connection with official development assistance projects.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to establish the K-Agriculture brand by advancing representative projects that have received positive evaluations in the international community, such as food aid and the K-Rice Belt. The rice food aid project will expand the number of supported countries and quantities, as well as diversify the supported items. The K-Rice Belt project, centered on East and West Africa, will be expanded southward and will provide integrated support for the entire rice industry, rural living environment improvement, education, and welfare enhancement.
Until now, the Ministry’s international agricultural cooperation projects tended to be implemented in a segmented and one-off manner according to the requests of partner countries. Going forward, the plan aims to contribute to the development of partner countries’ agricultural industries and the establishment of economic self-reliance by comprehensively supporting institutional improvements, production base establishment, activation of processing and distribution, and capacity building of participating entities based on an analysis of partner countries’ needs and the entire agricultural value chain. In particular, through the operation of educational programs linked to already supported agricultural facilities, support will be provided so that these facilities can serve as a foundation for spreading advanced agricultural technologies even after the projects end.
Song Mi-ryeong, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "This comprehensive plan is significant as it marks the 20th anniversary of agricultural ODA, reflecting on the achievements of projects carried out so far and supporting the growth of partner countries’ agricultural industries along with the overseas expansion of our agricultural companies in a win-win plan." She added, "We will cooperate with related ministries, international organizations, and the private sector to spread project outcomes and enhance national prestige."
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