S. Korea to increase agriculture aid to developing countries

SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will increase agricultural aid to
developing countries suffering from chronic food shortages, government officials
said Tuesday.

In a keynote address at a food security meeting of the Food and Agriculture
Organization in Rome on Monday, South Korean farm minister Chang Tae-pyong said
South Korea is uniquely placed to help other countries as it can share its own
experience in overcoming food shortages, the officials said.
"Chang pointed out that South Korea experienced serious food shortages only 40-50
years ago, but was able to overcome them in a relatively short period of time,"
according to a press release by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries.
Chang also reiterated Seoul's pledge to provide $100 million in aid over the next
three years to help improve food security issues for developing economies. The
pledge was made at a meeting of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals in
September, they said.
He was also quoted as saying in the meeting that South Korea is committed to
setting aside 150,000 tons of rice as part of the Asian emergency food reserve
program.
"The minister said that helping countries overcome famine must be a concerted
global effort and called for efforts to cope for future unexpected hikes in food
prices," the ministry said.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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