Background of Research

The Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget of Korea has been increasing very fast. There has emerged to develop Korean ODA model so as to utilize comparative advantages and effectively meet with the needs from partner countries. The topic of agricultural and rural development was selected as one of eight focus areas by the "Scheme of Advanced International Development and Cooperation" designed in October 2010, and so it is required to develop assistance programs in the area. Korean Prime Minister's Office requested the Korea Institute of Economy and Technololgy (KIET) to do the job of choosing out ODA programs in various sectors, and this study is one of the results, focusing upon agricultural sector.

Method of Research

This study selects program candidates through discussions with officials in the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery (MIFAFF), based upon broad survey of previous research results. Twenty programs were selected as final programs in agricultural sector, and they were screed again by being passed around among MIFAFF officials. Also, they were prioritized based upon internal deliberation among study team members.

Research Results and Implications

Comparative advantages emerged from Korean agricultural development process are as follows. Firstly, almost all value addition processes from production to processing, distribution and marketing have experienced technological innovation which will be contributory to the development of both forward and backward linkage industries. Secondly, the experience of rural development, especially that of Saemaul Undong, has already been recognized by so many countries as a very promising development strategy. Thirdly, there are a lot of human resources who have embodied rich experiences of past decades of technological development. That they can act as consultants, technicians, trainers, etc. for partner countries are a very strong point.
This study selected twenty programs from diverse agricultural and rural development policies implemented during the industrialization period. They were followed by descriptions and recommendations about development experiences, comparative advantages, capacities to transfer, program components and sub-components, and stepwise implementation process. Those selected programs are: integrated rural development, crop productivity improvement, agricultural infrastructure, distribution of agricultural commodities, irrigation and drainage system and management, technological R&D and extension and dissemination, human resource development, animal breeding, land management, cooperatives, commercial products and horticulture, environment-friendly agriculture, agricultural machinery, food safety, sea port development, forestation, aquaculture, timber and non-timer products, off-farm income source development, and livestock disease control.
As it takes longer time to witness visible outcomes in agricultural sector, it is required to transfer Korean ODA model and support the efforts to turn it to be growth engines for the partner countries in long-term perspective. The establishment of institutions and policies, training, implementation of pilot projects, and technological assistance are good tools for securing sustainability of development impacts.

Researchers: Jang Heo, Daeseob Lee, Seung-Eun Jeong
Research period: 2012. 4. - 2012. 6.
E-mail address: heojang@krei.re.kr