S. Korea to spend 5.9 tln won on agriculture, food sector R&D

SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to spend 5.9 trillion won (US$5.0
billion) on farming and food industry research and development (R&D) by 2014 to
build up its capabilities in this sector, the government said Wednesday.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said the injection of
funds starting in the new year could help push up the country's overall
capabilities in the agriculture and food processing sectors to 82 percent of
developed economies, from just 67 percent at present.
It said R&D will be centered on seven key areas such as farm production,
processing, distribution, biotech, and food distribution.
The ministry said of the money earmarked for R&D, the largest portion worth 663.1
billion won will be spent to bolster the country's seed industry, with
eco-friendly, green growth-related projects getting 267.6 billion won.
Prevention of livestock disease and research to streamline quarantine operations
will get 278.6 billion won, with food safety to receive 218.0 billion won.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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