Korean organization shares agriculture technology with local farmers

FARMERS HAULING a harvest of fresh lettuce. (Patrick James Alpay)

The Philippines and Korea have always been on good terms. Many Filipinos have found good jobs in Korea, and The Land of the Morning Calm continues to share its knowledge and resources in different industries, including agriculture.

The Korea Program for International Cooperation in Agricultural Technology (KOPIA) Philippines Center is an organization that facilitates the transfer of Korean agriculture technology to farmers in developing countries with the aim of helping them increase their income. There are around 23 KOPIA centers around the world.

Pilot villages

KOPIA Philippines Center, hereafter referred to simply as KOPIA, was established in 2010 inside Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Nueva Ecija, transferring to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) in Los Banos in 2018. Its current projects involve training farmer cooperatives to produce crops as well as constructing relevant infrastructure such as greenhouses and post-harvest and storage facilities to enhance production and increase profits.

Dr. Kyu-Seong Lee, former International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) scientist and current KOPIA director, oversees the organization’s latest project, the establishment of KOPIA pilot villages in Lucban, Quezon; Siniloan, Laguna; and Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija.

DR. KYU-SEONG LEE (left) and two farmers with a fresh harvest of French beans and Korean cucumbers. (Patrick James Alpay)

Working with farmers’ associations, the LGUs, and some private entities, KOPIA built greenhouses and post-production facilities. They also engaged participating farmers in skills enhancement and financial literacy courses to ensure that the project will continue even after the organization turns it over to the stakeholders. “LGUs who applied for pilot project [had] to prepare at least a one hectare area for good accessibility,” Dr Lee explained.

As of the interview, the harvests have either been for self-consumption or have been sold to the community. KOPIA has also been working with Mike Caballes of Bukid Amara, who is introducing them to potential buyers, as well as conducting farming and finance classes for the farmers.

The biggest myth that Lee continues to dispel, even among longtime farmers, is that farming, even in a tropical country, is easy. “[It is believed that] if you throw a seed [anywhere], it will grow on its own,” he said. “[But even] in tropical countries, [it is difficult to consistently] produce vegetables without a protective kind of cultivation.”

Mindset change

Lee stresses that KOPIA’s mission isn’t just to donate infrastructure and machinery and educate farmers on Korean agriculture technology, but to impart a business mindset to the farmers as well. “I always [tell] our farmers [that] this is only not to gain income, but we also need to cooperate and [establish] good communities [so we can] help each other,” he said. “Without cooperation, without self-help, without standing by each other, without loving each other in our barangay, you cannot work very well on the outside. So this is the baseline.”

Cooperation, he notices, is a muscle that Filipino farmers need to practice. “…they are very good farmers individually, but [we tell them that] as soon as we have [a project together], we should not be individuals. That is why we are talking and emphasizing cooperation,” he said.

Lee hopes to be able to set up at least 10 more pilot villages, and is trying to get the Korean government on board. The three pilot villages can be learning sites so that the model can be replicated nationwide. He added that in a way, projects like these are Korea’s way of thanking the Philippines for their participation in the Korean War, where over 7,000 Filipinos served under the United Nations Command.

“Because of the Korean war 70 years ago, now they are the one with gratitude for the Filipino people,” he said. “Then [Filipinos can] express [our] appreciation to [the] Korean people [by making] a successful project.”

Entrepreneurs in the making

In the end, the future of the Pilot Villages will depend on its members. “Whether they make sustainable villages… or not, this also depends on them. That is what I [keep] emphasizing,” Lee stressed.

At the time of the interview, the pilot villages were about to transition to high value crops, but the members had not decided on which ones yet. Lee was very excited, especially since he had noticed big changes from when the project started to the present. “Definitely, there are very big changes. They (the farmers) are much [more] diligent. They have [a sense of] duty. They are really eager to do something. They have hope. Without hope they [would not]… voluntarily come to work.”