The first rice seeds have been harvested in six African countries under Korea’s “K-rice belt” initiative launched last year to help enhance rice production in Africa. 

According to the agriculture ministry and the Rural Development Administration on Monday, a total of two-thousand-231 tons of rice seeds were harvested in Guinea, Uganda, Ghana, Gambia, Cameroon and Senegal. 

The harvested seeds will be provided to local farms or vulnerable groups through consultation with those countries. 

As part of Seoul’s official development assistance(ODA) work, the K-rice belt project calls for the creation of rice seed production complexes in the relevant African countries to produce high-yield rice varieties and distribute them to local farmers. 

The agriculture ministry plans to gradually expand rice seed production to produce ten-thousand tons annually from 2027 and distribute them to local farms in order to provide a stable supply of food to up to 30 million people in the African nations.

The ministry also decided to strengthen communication with each of the African nations by setting up an “ODA desk” in Ghana and major countries.