| Project Detail |
Saemaul Undong (SMU) was a nation-wide rural development
movement by the Korean government during the 1960s to
the 1980s. It is considered to be the most successful rural
development movement among many other rural development
initiatives in the world. The biggest difference of the movement
compared with others is that it was conducted nation-wide, and
it stressed changing the mindset of farmers to be based on a
“can do” spirit and “self-help, cooperation and diligence”. Also,
one of the most important parts of the SMU was governmental
leadership. In order to share Korea’s successful experience with
other developing countries, the Korean government has adopted
successful factors of SMU in their rural development ODA
programs.
Rural poverty in Cambodia largely stems from the lack of
infrastructure such as irrigation facilities and the low agricultural
productivity level. Another important factor is the market to
sell farm products. If there is no market to sell said products,
villagers cannot increase their incomes. Therefore, in 2014, the
Government of Cambodia requested a project following the
Korean rural development model to implement in Cambodia.
KOICA decided to support “Self-Supporting Rural Development
Project with Participatory Approach” and signed Record of
Discussions with Ministry of Rural Development in 2014. |
