Korea-Africa summit: Plans to ramp up rice production
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00:00 Meanwhile, a maiden summit which has seen South Korea welcome the representatives of 48 African
00:08 countries to its capital as part of a push to boost business ties with the continent wrapped
00:12 up on Wednesday. The two-day meeting was part of the Asian nation's outreach to Africa in a bid to
00:18 boost access to an investment in trade, tech, mining and more. And around 50 deals have been
00:25 struck so far. Possibility also blossomed on the agricultural front with four more nations from
00:32 the continent signing up for a Korean project aimed at ramping up rice production in Africa.
00:37 Our correspondent in Seoul tells us more. Today, Angola, Madagascar, Malawi and Zimbabwe
00:44 entered the K-Rice Belt Project. K stands for Korea as it is an official assistance development
00:51 project organized by South Korea on the African continent. There are currently 10 countries that
00:55 are already part of the project, including Senegal. Its Minister of Agriculture considered
01:00 that this partnership is important for the future of his country.
01:03 Africa imports more than $35 billion to feed itself. If we do nothing, this could go up to
01:14 more than $100 billion. If I take Senegal as an example, Korea helps us produce good quality,
01:20 certified seeds. These help meet food demand on a large scale and could help the continent
01:26 reach self-sufficiency.
01:28 What Korea does is that they supply some specific rice seeds that are more resistant and more
01:38 fruitful alongside with the specific agricultural technology. According to the Korean Minister of
01:44 Agriculture, the aim of this partnership is to help Africa achieve agricultural development,
01:49 but this agricultural diplomacy is also a way for Korea to try and open African markets
01:54 to its companies related to Korean food or to agricultural gears and technologies.