Ugandans fall for Korea agricultural models

A happy farmer shows off his oranges

Dressed in a striped blue shirt and grey slacks, James Ssebabi watches the crowd file into the conference room at the embassy of the Republic of Korea.

A soft-spoken maize farmer from Mpigi district, Ssebabi is here because a trip to South Korea changed his life. More than 100 people attended the first summit of the Korea-Uganda Agriculture Rural Development Partnership last Tuesday. The mostly Ugandan crowd listened to a panel of agriculture experts.

The panel discussed how that sector’s development fostered Korea’s transformation into a major economic power. This was achieved through technological innovation, economic and political reforms. The panel agreed there is much Uganda can learn from how Korea modernized its agricultural society.

Ssebabi visited Korea in 2010 with the Twekembe Association Centre for Rural System and Development, a Ugandan NGO committed to strengthening rural communities. In Korea, he learnt about that country’s cutting-edge fertilizing techniques. He decided to bring them home. Before the trip, Ssebabi’s maize crop yielded 2,000 kilos per month. It now yields as much as 10,000 kilos over the same period.

“Their mindset in Korea is different because they look at farming as a source of revenue,” Ssebabi said. “Here, people see it as being the work for people who have failed in life.”
Bernard Bashaasha, associate professor of agriculture at Makerere University, agreed that Uganda’s cultural views on farming must evolve.

“Something must be done to get us into action and get our farming community mobilized and motivated,” Bashaasha said. “To many young people, the thinking is ‘I wanted to practise medicine but I failed; so, I ended up farming,’ and I want that to change.”

More than cultural forces hold Uganda’s agricultural sector back. Agriculture employs 77 per cent of Uganda’s labour force and makes up more than 85 per cent of its exports, but constitutes only a third of the country’s GDP.  Shoddy infrastructure, weakening soil fertility and high transactional costs prevent this sector from realizing its potential. Inadequate storage facilities also undermine farm operations, spoiling almost a third of all crops after they are harvested.

“So much emphasis is placed on productivity,” Bashaasha said. “But to me, the easiest thing would be to protect the 30 per cent of crops we already make and then lose.”
In the early 1960s, Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. A USAID report published in 1961 called the Asian country “a nightmare, an albatross, a rat hole and a bottomless pit.” Per capita income was a meagre $89.

The following decades ushered in a series of agricultural and political reforms. The country went from zero to 100 per cent mechanized rice cultivation, developed more versatile seed strains of staple crops, improved infrastructure and trained farmers in market specialization and value addition. Korea is now the world’s fifteenth largest economy and considered a model for economic development and democratic governance. Its leaders are eager to showcase their nation’s example.

Young-Kong Koh, senior advisor in agriculture to the Korea International Cooperation Agency, spoke for the panel about his country’s development and the potential for stronger bilateral relations between Korea and Uganda.

“I agree that Uganda has the potential to achieve even more than South Korea,” Koh said. “I believe this can be realized in the future.”

Koh argued that the Ugandan government must do more to strengthen its agricultural sector. He said this should be achieved through greater financial support towards farmers.
“In the US, even today in the 21st century, the government provides direct loans and credit to farmers,” Koh said. “This should also happen here.”

To reach the Korean level of development, Uganda must undergo a series of profound reforms to its educational system, transport routes, agricultural financing and trade policies. But for farmers like James Ssebabi, positive changes have already begun.

“I get some money now, and the people are learning from me,” Ssebabi said.
“Especially the youth of my community.”

aj.tucciarone@gmail.com

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