The Economic Effects of Research-led Agricultural Development Assistance: The Case of Korean Programs on International Agriculture

South Korea’s Rural Development Administration embarked on the Korean Programs on International Agriculture (KOPIA) in six developing countries for agricultural development assistance in 2009, and the programs were undertaken in 21 countries in 2018. The purposes of the KOPIA are to introduce new agricultural technologies by cooperative research and development, and to extend developed technologies to farmers and agricultural businesses. In this paper, the economic effects of the KOPIA are estimated in 23 recipient countries in terms of their production and value-added inducement effect. In doing so, the inter-industry relation analysis method is used with an input-output table for each country from the Eora multi-region input-output (Eora MRIO) database. From the analysis between 2009 and 2017, the production inducement effect (PIE) by the KOPIA in the 23 countries is estimated to total US$99 million, accounting for 1.7 times its total budget of US$58.9 million, and the value-added inducement effect (VIE) in the 13 countries is estimated to total US$23.9 million. More importantly, the PIE and VIE continue to be higher in some countries, and the annual VIE tends to increase in most of the countries. These findings imply that the research-led KOPIA has contributed to agricultural development and further economic growth through inter-industrial relations in the recipients.

International Agricultural Concepts through the Eyes of School-Based Agriculture Education Students

As demands to participate in a global economy increase, American students, who have limited knowledge of international agriculture concepts, must be better educated in terms of international awareness and understanding. The purpose of this study was to identify the attitudes, beliefs, understanding, and desired instructional methods of Tennessee school-based agricultural education students in regards to international agriculture. A descriptive questionnaire comprised of 46 items, which measured four constructs, was used to collect data. The summated means of all students for attitudes, beliefs, understanding, and instruction were 3.81 (SD = .46), 3.81 (SD = .57), 3.76 (SD = .51), and 3.76 (SD = .47), respectively. Findings indicated students hold positive attitudes and beliefs toward international agricultural concepts. In an effort to remain a global leader in science and innovation and to meet the needs of the agricultural employers, State Departments of Education should consider providing resources for the development, testing, and implementation of internationalized curricula. If not currently internationalized, other countries should also consider internationalizing their curricula and determine how best to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to work in a globalized economy.