Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

The Hanbit unit spreads Korean agricultural techniques in South Sudan

The Hanbit unit, which has been working to reconstruct and keep the peace in South Sudan, spreads Korean agricultural techniques, harvesting the fruit of hope.

On April 21, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the Hanbit Agricultural Research Center (the Research Center)had held its second completion ceremony for the producer course, and that those who acquired advanced Korean agricultural techniques would be a pillar of farming development in South Sudan.

The unit created the ‘Hanbit Farm’ in July 2014 to teach agricultural techniques to South Sudanese people, and expanded it and reorganized it into the Research Center last year. Offered to classes of 30 people, the 10-week producer course provides free farming teaching materials, as well as seeds, and combines agricultural practices with theory.

Particularly with respect to the production of crops that suit the characteristics of the region, they invited instructors from the Korea Program on International Agriculture (KOPIA), Rural Development Administration to pass along a culture of diligence, self-deprecation, and cooperation - all part of the core spirit of the Saemaeul Movement. The South Sudanese government is providing people who complete the course with 8 to 10 pyeong of public ground per person so that they can stand on their own feet.

The Hanbit unit has made a significant contribution not only to preventing food shortages, but also to economic development. Until now, South Sudanese people have depended upon food that is supplied by the World Food Plan(WFP) and other international organizations. They are now, however, raising crops such as okra, kodora, corn, zucchini, lettuce, and more after reclaiming 30,000 pyeong of abandoned land around the refugee center where they live. They are also learning a sense of economy that involves purchasing daily necessities with earnings from produce sales.

The unit has been developing the Research Center as a place of harmony, as they have mixed the Dinka and Nuer tribes together for the third producer course; these tribes had constantly been in conflict with each other due to a civil war. One Dinka member is an instructor and the Nuer students learn from him, knocking down the wall of conflict.

Mr. Johnson, the instructor, said, “I don’t have any problems teaching Nuer students. I’ll spread agricultural techniques to the South Sudanese as a South Sudanese, so as not to divide the Dinka and Nuer, so that South Sudan can develop itself.”

Moreover, the unit intends to run a vocational school to cultivate technical professionals in areas of electricity, construction, welding, carpentry, and others, based on the achievements of the Research Center.

Colonel Kim Byung-chun, commanding officer of the unit, said, “Students have a tremendous enthusiasm for training, with some walking 1–2 hours to get to the Research Center. By pursuing a Korean rural sentiment and the spirit of diligence and hard work that is characteristic of Korea, they will be the cornerstones of economic development in South Sudan.”

By Byeong-No, Yun < trylover@dema.mil.kr >
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