Chungcheongnam-do Buyeo-gun announced on the 10th that it embarked on its 10th visit to Uzbekistan to inspect the rice harvest site at the local Buyeo-gun Agricultural Demonstration Complex.

This demonstration complex is part of the K-Agriculture overseas expansion project promoted since 2024, operating across approximately 60 hectares in Namangan Province, Uzbekistan, this year as well. Following the successful completion of seedling raising and mechanical rice transplating between May and June, this harvest marks the fruition of a year's farming efforts.

Notably, Korean combine harvesters were deployed for this rice harvest with the cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan. Previously, high loss rates caused by limitations in local harvesting methods were pointed out as a problem; the introduction of Korean combine harvesters is evaluated as having significant meaning by confirming the potential for innovative improvements.

In fact, results from this visit showed that harvesting with Korean combine harvesters increased the yield per hectare by approximately 1.5 times. This outcome demonstrates that Korea's agricultural mechanization technology can exert high effectiveness even under local rice cultivation conditions, further boosting the reliability of the demonstration complex.

Based on these achievements, Buyeo-gun plans to expand the scale of the rice cultivation complex from the current approximately 60ha to 110ha in 2027. Consequently, the scope of K-agriculture technology dissemination is expected to broaden further.

Begzod, representative of the Namangan agricultural corporation and local business partner in Uzbekistan, expressed gratitude for the excellence of K-agriculture and the efforts of Buyeo-gun and rice farming specialists who faithfully carried out all stages of rice cultivation under difficult conditions. He stated, "Understanding the reality of Korean agriculture, which suffers from labor shortages due to its small land area and aging population, if young farmers from Buyeo wish to expand into Uzbekistan, we will jointly manage 1,000 hectares of farmland."

Meanwhile, the Buyeo-gun Agricultural Technology Center is promoting the establishment of the International Agricultural Technology Education Center to systematically support local farmer education and technology transfer in Uzbekistan. In relation to this, the working-level delegation met on the 5th with Nizomov Rustam Axroлович, director of AKIS, Uzbekistan's top agricultural education institution, to discuss cooperation measures.

On this day, the delegation toured local facilities including spaces capable of education and practice and dormitories, and Director Nizomov expressed his desire to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two institutions. Accordingly, subsequent discussions to establish an educational base are expected to gain momentum.

Kim Min-ho, president of the Buyeo-gun Federation of Rice Farmers, said, "The yield increase effect confirmed at the Uzbekistan demonstration complex is a meaningful achievement that publicizes the excellence of K-agriculture to the local area." He added, "We will closely cooperate with local institutions to ensure that next year's expansion of the cultivation complex and the establishment of the International Agricultural Technology Education Center proceed without a hitch, thereby continuously expanding agricultural technology exchanges."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]