국제농업협력의 추진전략 및 실천방안

Abstract

본 보고서에서는 우리나라가 추진하여야 할 농업·농촌분야 국제협력사업의 기본 방향을 제시하고 한국이 전수할 수 있는 분야를 살펴보았다. 특히 날로 중요성이 커가는 국제협력사업을 더 효과적으로 추진할 수 있도록 체제를 개편하는 방안을 제안하였다.

Under the influence from the universal trend of globalization since the 1980s, agriculture in South Korea has been facing an extremely backbreaking restructuring process. Yet, the proliferation of free trade due to globalization can also be perceived as a booster which will provide new opportunities to the Korean agricultural sector. The Korean government has already indicated an aim to increase the export quantity of agricultural products to $10 billion by 2012. Moreover, a plan to strengthen overseas cooperation projects such as developments of bio-energy and food resources focusing on countries with rich resources is under progress. Until the 1960s, Korea used to be one of the poorest, least developed countries (LDCs) in the world. However, as a result of the Five-Year Economic Development Plan launched in 1962 and the state-initiated policy for food self-sufficiency, as well as Saemaul Undong or New Community Movement, Korea successfully solved food shortage and made a great progress in rooting out poverty in rural villages. Furthermore, Korea became an OECD member in 1996, and has joined activities to solve starvation and poverty in developing countries. This implies that Korea has become no longer an aid recipient country but a member of donor states supporting a wide array of development and cooperation projects for the international community. In 2000, the United Nations proposed the eight Millennium Deve- lopment Goals (UN MDGs) to confront eight major problems the humanity is currently facing. The cooperation programs for agriculture, geared by not only OECD/DAC member states but also advanced donor countries such as the United States and Japan, put the highest priority in achieving the goals. In step with this trend, Korea's international cooperation in agricultural sector also should proceed towards eradication of extreme poverty and hunger. Furthermore, this policy momentum should be utilized as a tool to efficiently acquire foreign agricultural resources and achieve the secondary aim of surviving the competition in globalization. Korea has successfully addressed the long-rooted poverty of rural villages and food shortage, and the disparity of income among labor forces through following measures: farmland reform, increase in food production, agricultural structural reform, rural village development movements including Saemaul Undong, increase of off-farm income through the industrialization of rural villages, and rural development projects like the Integrated Rural Regional Development Program in the latter 1980s. The experience of developing agriculture and rural regions, which Korea has achieved in the past forty years, can be valuable lessons for developing countries. Hence, in order to convey these lessons to developing countries, the points listed below should be taken into consideration. First, the countries which either require highest attention for reduction of poverty and extreme hunger or are strategically important to Korea should be designated as key assistance recipient countries, and intensive support should be made to them to satisfy their development needs. The regions that are on top of the list for immediate help are Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Second, a support scheme should be scrutinized by analyzing what fields hold the possibility for cooperation. Although the domestic perception of Korea's achievements in agriculture is sometimes negative, the international perspective highly evaluates the accomplishments. The fields of achievement especially renowned internationally are as follows: rice plant breeding tech- niques for food production increase; crop cultivation techniques; foundation of agricultural R various policies for agricultural enhancement; veterinary inspection of livestock; cultivation of flowery plants; after-harvest skills; mechanized farming techniques; Saemaul Undong and agricultural policies for overall development of rural villages; policies for industrialization of agricultural regions; and policies promoting agro-food industry. Moreover, these are assessed to be areas where Korea can render assistance and become a cooperative partner for the increase of food production and resolution of poverty in developing countries. Third, there needs to be a clear guideline and a system for finding cooperation projects and selecting business partners. The excavation and proposal of cooperation projects should be pursued in a broader term with not only the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MIFAFF) but also groups under the umbrella of MIFAFF and private groups. Additionally, a partnership with the government of a recipient country is also crucial for successful procedure as well. There also needs to be a prior feasibility study of cooperation projects and an objective assessment of prospective business partners. Fourth, the methods of supporting cooperation projects should be improved. In other words, the existing system which supports small individual projects should be replaced with the one that can sustain synergy effects and durability of development. Moreover, there is also the need to study measures that can support the globalization of Korean agriculture and overseas expansion of domestic agro-food companies by providing private groups the opportunities to participate in cooperation programs in the agricultural field. Fifth, the management system of international cooperation programs should be reorganized. The international cooperation programs in agricultural sector are currently conducted in such a way where the MIFAFF acquires budget and distributes it after selecting project contractors. In the process, however, MIFAFF shows limitations in the examination of project adequacy, selection of project contractors, and monitoring and evaluation of performance due to lack of experience and expertise. Under these circumstances, it would be wiser to appropriately entrust the management to specialized organizations. The most suitable scheme would be as follows: MIFAFF taking charge of the overall planning of international cooperation programs, including acquisition of budget; Korea Rural Economic Institute or KREI, an institute which performs policy studies for MIFAFF, taking charge of enforcement and management of the programs; and umbrella organizations of MIFAFF, such as Rural Development Administration, Korea Forest Service, public corporations and research institutes funded by the government, private research institutes and universities taking charge of implementing international cooperation projects based on their own specialties. Sixth, a midway and final evaluation should be performed to enhance productivity. In addition, there is the necessity to publicize the results and accomplishments of these projects through newspapers and broadcasting both in the recipient country and in Korea to gain public sympathy and support.