Korea:50,000 tons of rice supplied as foreign aid

Agriculture Minister Kim Young-rok, right, shakes hands with World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley after signing an agreement to entrust the organization to deliver and distribute rice donated by Korea at WFP headquarters in Rome, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affair

Korea signed an agreement for food assistance with the World Food Programme (WFP), pledging to provide through the organization 50,000 tons of Korean rice, worth 46 billion won ($42.5 million) to people of developing countries suffering from starvation.

"Seventy years ago, Korea was torn apart by the Korean War. However, we overcame the limitations of a divided country and achieved a model democracy and market economy. Now, Korea stands as the 11th-largest economy in the world," the country's agriculture minister Kim Young-rok said in a special speech to the WFP, Wednesday. As the world's leading humanitarian assistance agency under the United Nations, the organization has been providing food to 80 million people each year.

"I want to acknowledge that in our early stages of economic growth, foreign assistance from the international community including the WFP laid solid building blocks for our growth," he said.

He pointed to Korea's joining of the OECD Development Assistance Committee in 2010.

"Our transformation from a recipient to a donor serves as an exemplary case of just what international assistance can do."

The donation follows Korea's joining of the Food Assistance Convention (FAC) in January as its 16th member country. Created in 1968, FAC aims at provide humanitarian food aid to developing countries. It recorded $3 billion worth of donation pledges and fulfillments in 2017. Upon joining the convention, Korea agreed to supply 46 billion won worth food assistance in 2018. 

According to the ministry, 50,000 tons of Grade A rice produced in Korea will be donated. Rice polishing and packaging work will begin in March and is slated to be completed in the first half of the year, with plans for distribution to donor countries in the second half. The WFP will be in charge of shipping and distribution. 

The rice will be donated to five recipient countries the government selected in consultation with the WFP as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Syria and Yemen in the Middle East and Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda in Africa. They are suffering severe food shortages due to conflict and natural disasters. Each recipient country will get 10,000 tons of rice. 

"In this era where mankind has witnessed unprecedented development, conflicts and natural disasters are still inflicting pain and suffering on many parts of the world. About 800 million people, including women and children, are still left undernourished," the minister said.

"In the global efforts to achieve zero hunger, Korea will take a more active role by strengthening cooperation with WFP and other international institutions."

In Yemen, 17.8 million of its 28 million total population face a food crisis. The WFP estimates an additional 3.2 million will fall into crisis due to intensifying armed conflict since 2017. Conditions are also deteriorating rapidly in Syria following seven years of civil war. Seven out of 10 Syrians are in extreme poverty and 10.5 million need food support. 

The recipient countries in Africa are in no better shape. In the case of Kenya, 42 percent of its population of 46 million is in poverty, suffering from an unstable food supply as well as water shortage following frequent drought. Ten percent of Ethiopians suffer serious malnutrition. Moreover, 650,000 refugees from Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan staying in the country are in need of food. The number of refugees to Uganda more than tripled during the past two years, coming from South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi. Since July 2017, over 730,000 refugees have entered Uganda. 

The minister added Korea will share its agricultural expertise and technology with developing countries to assist them to establish the fundamentals needed for their growth. 

The rice donation is also meaningful as Korea is trying to diversify its overseas assistance which has been focused on infrastructure development. 

"Through the full-scale food assistance that we provide by joining the FAC, Korea will emerge as a full-fledged, key donor country in food aid. This will enhance the international community's awareness of Korea," an official at the agriculture ministry said.

"Countries like Ethiopia helped us during the Korean War, dispatching troops to fight together against North Korea. The food aid is of major significance since it gives Korea an opportunity to pay back."