A look into South Korea's rice gift to Africa – Business Insider Africa

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The potential of Africa’s rice market has caught the attention of the East Asian nation of South Korea. The ability of the continent to grow this staple crop has piqued the interest of South Korea which then decided to introduce the K-Rice seed, a technology to boost rice seeds. As a result, South Korea has partnered with some African countries on the K-Rice project.
The K-Rice Belt initiative was developed to assist African nations in increasing their rice self-sufficiency rate by developing high-yielding rice varieties, supplying seeds, providing method training, and so on.
On July 10, 2023, South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with eight African nations to establish the “K-Rice Belt Initiative,” a new effort to boost rice production in those countries.
The initiative, which is part of Seoul’s official development assistance (ODA), aims to assist African nations in building irrigation systems as well as providing technical assistance and equipment to improve rice cultivation and distribution in Cameroon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea (Bissau), Kenya, Senegal and Uganda.
In July 2023, Development Aid reported that South Korea had already invested $80 million into the project, with plans to expand on its funds.
According to a report by the Ugandan newspaper, The Monitor, Kenya and Uganda have served as pilot sites for the project.
So far, the project has aided in the production of 2040 tonnes of rice since its launch. On average Kenya and Uganda expect to produce 2300 tonnes of rice in the next 3 years under the initiative.
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“Even if technology is small, as long as it is rooted in the local people it will have a significant impact. When Korea was in poverty we received a lot of help from the international community, now we feel it’s our turn to help,” as stated by the director general for the Technology Cooperation Bureau of the Rural Development Administration, the primary crop research organization in South Korea.
He said this ahead of the inaugural Korea-Africa Summit, to a group of African journalists invited to the capital city of South Korea, Seoul.
He also noted that the Summit is not centered on the production of Rice but African leaders have been summoned to detail the type of partnership they wish to have with the East Asian country.
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