Rural Development
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Most of developing countries are based on the primary industries, such as agriculture, and the majority of the poor live in rural areas.
Therefore, rural development is crucial in order to alleviate poverty and hunger, and to enhance the quality of life.
Korea was one of the world's most impoverished countries in the 1960s, but achieved breathtaking economic success throughout the 1970s and 1980s. -
In December 1996, it joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
In large part, success in tackling rural poverty made this dramatic change possible.
As a result, the international community has a deep interest in the contributions Korea can make to rural development in the developing world countries.
Rural development can be achieved by increasing household income and training rural work forces
Some essential reasons to support rural development are as follows
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Developing countries rely on the primary industries, such as agriculture, as a source of wealth. In these terms, increasing in agricultural productivity can help raise income levels, which in turn can lead to capital accumulation that can promote development of other relevant industries - so-called, forward & backward linkage effects. In addition, when agricultural productivity increases, so does the level of food security, which can lessen the negative effects caused by natural disasters such as drought and flood.
From a humanitarian perspective, it is hard to expect the success of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) without supporting rural areas because the majority of the poor in the developing countries live in these areas.
Because of uneven development and opportunities in rural areas, farmers tend to relocate into urban areas at an unprecedented rate. The influx has resulted in the serious deterioration of urban sanitation. By improving rural conditions and offering opportunities for employment and education to rural people, many urban problems can be diminished.
KOICA's rural development program can be categorized as follows
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Establishment of infrastructure to improve the quality of rural life, namely road construction, clean water supply development, and amenity building such as primary schools, public sanitation facilities as well as community centers.
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Development of agricultural technology to increase productivity, build agricultural infrastructure, improve the irrigation and drainage systems, support the construction of distribution centers, and introduce mechanized farming.
Improvement of agricultural policies and human resources for sustainable rural development by providing policy advice, building research centers, and training researchers.
By fully utilizing Korea's unique experience of poverty eradication, based on rural development, KOICA contributes to achieve the MDGs.
Specifically, KOICA is striving to reduce absolute poverty in the world by half (Goal 1, Target 1), halve the proportion of people suffering from hunger (Goal 1, Target 2), preserve environmental resources (Goal 7, Target 9), and improve the lives of slum dwellers (Goal 7, Target 11).