On Wednesday, April 17, the South Korean government announced the decision to provide free rice to Kenyans through its Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
While making the announcement, South Korea stated that it would supply 100,000 tonnes of rice estimated to provide food for nearly 2.6 million people across 11 countries.
Kenya will be among the countries set to benefit from the free goodies. According to a report by South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya will receive 21,000 tonnes of free rice.
Those poised to benefit from the free rice include refugees and vulnerable families suffering from famine and nutritional deficiencies.
“The ministry is also carrying out the “K-Ricebelt Project,” an official development assistance (ODA) project, aimed to contribute to achieving zero hunger in Africa,” South Korea announced.
South Korea’s Minister of Agriculture, Song Miryung stated that it was the only country that had transformed itself from a recipient to a donor country in half a century.
Other African countries that will also benefit from the supply include Uganda, Madagascar, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Sierra Leone and Ethiopia.
South Korea further promised to champion rice seed production in African countries. According to them, they will come up with high-yielding rice seeds, and supply them to farmers.
"As a responsible member of the international community, we will make the utmost effort to fulfil our roles and duties by continuing to expand not only food aid but also the K-Ricebelt Project," Minister Song Miryung stated.
According to the South Korean government, the initiative was in line with the deliberations of the G7 summit held last year in Japan.
The country termed the move a significant milestone having boosted the aid to 100,000 tonnes from the previous 50,000 tonnes and also increased the number of recipient countries to 11 from 5.
"This year, another five African countries as well as the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan have been added to the list of the recipient countries," South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture revealed.
