South Korea encourages overseas farming

South Korea will loan money and provide technology to companies to develop farms overseas to ensure the country's food security after prices increased last year.

South Korea, which imports 95 percent of its grains, saw the cost of grain imports surged last year to record highs.

South Korea is interested to produce grains overseas, possibly signing 50-year leases for agricultural land in Russia's Far East, according to President Lee Myung Bak.

So far, Daewoo Logistics Corp. has leased land in Madagascar to cultivate corn, while Nonghyup Feed plans to farm corn in Indonesia.

On a side note, South Korea plans to more than double exports of pork and poultry by 2012. To do that, the government plans to ease rules to attract investments from large companies and foreign investors, develop technology and reform the industry, according to Chang Tae Pyong, Minister for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.