Through the Rural Development Administration (RDA), Korea has kept abreast with global developments in agriculture to make the country a powerhouse in food production and manufacturer of agricultural machinery. The African nations in the Korea-Africa Food and Agriculture Initiative (KAFACI) have shown a great interest in learning the Korean experience in agriculture.
The Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre (SIRDC) is implementing a number of projects under the KAFACI framework. The country project on "Agricultural Mechanization for Soya-bean Production" aims at promoting the mechanization of soya bean production among small farm holders. The project has seen SIRDC adapting Korean technologies. The developed equipment will eventually be locally manufactured and distributed throughout Zimbabwe and in the South African Development Community (SADC) region.
Another project is the "Enhancement of the National Agricultural Extension Services for Food Security." This project promotes the role of the public sector in spreading improved seeds and agricultural best practices to farmers, leading to increased productivity for food security. The SIRDC is implementing this project in Hwedza District, Mashonaland East Province in collaboration with the Agricultural Technical and Extension Services Department (AGRITEX) as the extension agent. The project draws inspiration from the "Saemaeul Undong" rural development model that transformed South Korea's rural areas in the 1970s, and brought an end to the endemic poverty and food shortages that had once prevailed in that country.
This project yielded very impressive results in its first year of implementation during the 2013/2014 farming season. On the small trial plots of 0.1 hectares, the participating Hwedza farmers obtained yields which have never been witnessed before in the district. Baseline studies showed that farmers' yields improved from a historical average of 0.28 tons per hectare to 4 tons per hector, which is a significant increase from their previous yields.
The farmers who participated in this pilot project benefited through the provision of agricultural inputs. The inputs included maize seed, SIRDC's fertilizers, herbicides, hands-on training and consistent monitoring by agricultural extension officers. The maize seed variety distributed was developed by SIRDC and is called SIRDAMAIZE 113. The SIRDAMAIZE 113 is an improved seed variety with drought tolerant traits that makes it survive under drought conditions.
The Hwedza project demonstrated that with the right inputs and good agricultural practices, maize productivity at household level can be increased. As a result of the positive outcome of the program, it has been expanded from the initial 100 to 300 households, with initiatives now aiming to have the program replicated in the 60 districts of Zimbabwe
There are five new approved programs under the KAFACI initiative. These are basic agricultural science, food crops, horticulture, livestock and agricultural extension. These five programs seek to achieve the key objectives of contributing towards food security and alleviating poverty in member countries, drawing on lessons learnt throughout Korea's unique rural development process.
Falling under these programs are specific projects that respectively focus on genetic improvement of maize, cassava and rice varieties for protection against diseases and pests; Development and application of postharvest Management technologies for horticultural crops, Promotion of good management practices for increased productivity in small scale chicken producers, and Enhancement of National agricultural extension systems. These new programs were mooted at a planning workshop held in Harare in February 2014. Zimbabwe is the project leader for the food crops program and continues to play a pivotal role in the implementation of all the KAFACI projects.
There is no doubt that KAFACI is poised to contribute to food security and alleviate poverty on the African continent.
The writer is CEO of Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre (SIRDC).