31 August 2016 –Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez together with Agricultural Analyst Maria Alilia Maghirang, Head of the Philippine Agriculture Office (PAO), met with Chairman Byeong-won Kim of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) and his team at the NACF headquarters in Seoul on August 23  .

The discussion focused on South Korea’s proposal for joint collaboration with the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) to transform Philippine agricultural cooperatives and farmers' associations into key drivers of growth in rural areas. 

Ambassador Hernandez and Chairman Kim talked about the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Philippines and South Korea on Technical Cooperation in Agriculture. 

This was first proposed by the Honorable Gwang-Seok Hong, Member of South Korea’s National Assembly in June 2016. Ambassador Hernandez warmly welcomed the proposed MOU, stating that “Strengthening of collaboration with the NACF can greatly help in empowering local agricultural cooperatives and farmers’ associations in the Philippines.”

Chairman Kim assured Ambassador Hernandez that the NACF looks forward to sharing its experience and knowledge with the Philippines as the NACF was instrumental in spearheading the modernization of South Korea's agricultural sector and fostering economic growth in rural areas.

Under the proposed MOU, the South Korean government, through the NACF and Saemaul Undong (New Community Movement), will assist Philippine agricultural cooperatives and farmers’ associations through the following projects: (a) Hardware Development Cooperation Projects- establishment of more rice processing centers and a cold-chain system; (b) Saemaul Undong Cooperation Projects – building model villages patterned after the highly successful Saemaul Undong and providing leadership training to agricultural cooperatives and farmers’ associations ; (c)Software Development Cooperation Projects - providing infrastructure support to improve agricultural production and promote Smart Farming in rural areas; and (d) Exchange and Growth Cooperation Projects-filling the labor shortage in South Korea’s agricultural sector and expanding exchanges among cooperatives.

The meeting concluded with a commitment on both sides to continue discussions on the proposed MOU. END