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November 04, 2009
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In a group interview with reporters, Kim Jae-soo, administrator of the agency under the Agriculture Ministry, said Korea would try to exceed efforts by Japan and China to help fellow Asian countries develop agricultural technology. The interview took place just hours before Kim and his counterparts from 11 Asian developing countries signed a memorandum of understanding in Seoul to launch the Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative. The initiative, led by Korea, will be focused on sharing knowledge with the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Uzbekistan and seven other Asian countries, the RDA said. Japan and China were not invited to participate. “We have already been cooperating with many Asian countries, sharing our agricultural technologies, but these were all individual projects,” Kim said. “We needed to do it in a more comprehensive and organized way. That is why we came up with this initiative.” Kim said helping Asia, in particular through spreading around agricultural know-how, would make a major contribution to the region where two-thirds of the world’s population under poverty line lives. It will also help Korea earn a reputation befitting its status as the host of next year’s G-20 summit, he said. China and Japan have been sharing farming technologies with other Asian countries through their own programs. Kim said the AFACI is open to their participation by the two countries, but admitted the initiative was designed to strengthen Korea’s leadership in Asia. “Japan and China are basically our competitors in this agricultural technology sharing,” he said. “[Korea] will lead this initiative and try to acquire a leading position in Asia in the agricultural sector.” Kim said the initiative will start as a 12-member gathering but will expand further over the years. “In a second step, we will try to get the other 40 or so Asian countries involved gradually beginning in 2010,” he said. The RDA said it plans to launch the AFACI within the year. It will spend $2 million on the initiative by next year and $5 million by 2012, it said. By Moon Gwang-lip [joe@joongang.co.kr] |
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