Climate-Resilient Rice to Be Supplied…to Eight African Nations

In an effort to empower African nations to improve yields and food security, South Korea is launching a project aimed at supplying resilient rice varieties, sharing technologies and experience with countries dealing with unfavorable agricultural circumstances.

“This project will not only help resolve the food crisis in Africa but also develop their agriculture industry and the broader economy,” explains Agriculture Minister Chung Hwang-keun. “It will also help achieve the world’s sustainable development goals by protecting the African continent.”

The “K-rice Belt” project will provide eight African countries – Cameroon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Keyna, Senegal, and Uganda – with rice varieties able to withstand adverse climate conditions. The project falls within South Korea’s official development assistance programs designed to help countries lacking agricultural infrastructure and dealing with limitations to grow crops. The goal is to harvest some 2,000 tons of rice varieties in Africa in 2023, rising to 10,000 tons combined per year from 2027 and onward to feed some 30 million people. South Korea will invest $80 million by 2027 for the project which can “further be expanded as more African nations have voiced hope for participating in the project.”