On 7 January, the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation conducted an internship programme for 23 government workers from 14 countries. All participants taking part in this four-day event were students currently studying a Master’s Degree in Korea as part of KOICA’s overseas development assistance (ODA) project.

The NACF-hosted internship aims to share the story of the Korean agricultural cooperative coping with the aftermath the Korean war that ended in 1953 and becoming one of the most successful cooperatives in the world.

Since 2018, the NACF has been carrying out a variety of ODA programmes including KOICA Global Training and also working closely with several developing countries to explore opportunities for joint projects.

Chun-gwon Lee, General Manager of the NACF Future Management Research Institute, welcomed the participants to the opening ceremony in which he said: “The NACF is an integrated agricultural cooperative that provides wide-ranging services from distribution of agricultural and livestock products to training and support, and financial services for its member farmers.” “I hope our experience can provide you with some useful insight into addressing issues relating to high-interest loans in rural communities and distribution systems for agricultural products in your countries.”