(Asuncion, Paraguay) Korea Institute for Development Strategy (KDS) held a presentation for the second phase of the “Samaeul Undong(SMU) Project of Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development in Paraguay”, which is funded by a bilateral grant from the Republic of Korea through Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The event was held on June 27, 2019, in the auditorium of the Department of Agricultural Extension(DEAg) of MAG, San Lorenzo. The Korean Ambassador Min Shik AHN, KOICA Country Director Man Shik SHIN, the Minister of Agriculture(MAG) in Paraguay Denis Lichi, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture Nicasio Romero, other government officers as well as agents from international organizations such as IFAD, Good neighbors, IFAD have attended this ceremony. In the presence of approximately 100 participants, the evaluation results on the 1st phase of project and the implementation plan for the 2nd phase were presented by the Project Manager, Jongdae PARK.
From 2016 to 2018, the Saemaul project in Paraguay based on the experiences of the Saemaul movement in Korea, was conducted as the first phase. According to the evaluation, the project has a positive results; increasing agricultural productivity and income as well as improving the living environment through commercialization. The first phase of the project was carried out with 5 farmers’ organizations(committees) in the departments of San Pedro and Caaguazú.
The second phase of the Saemaul project will be carried out until 2021, with a budget of USD 2.5 million for maximum 15 committees of the Central and Cordillera departments. At this particular stage, capacity building programme and practical research will be followed in order to strengthen skills of the pilot village, farmers and committees.
The project aims to achieve income enhancement and capacity building of Paraguay's family and small-holder farmers. From 2015 to 2021, a total of 7 million USD is to be allocated to the following activities: 1) pilot projects with farmers’ organizations, 2) agricultural capacity-building and improvement of training environment, 3) research on farming technology and agri-food value chain. KDS is responsible for the overall project management since December, 2018.
