The Rural Development Administration (RDA) is the co-winner of the inaugural Global Future Fit Award at the annual World Governments Summit held from Feb. 11-13 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. Shown are children in Uganda giving a thumbs up while eating oranges developed by an orange village under a trial project of the Korea Program on International Agriculture. (RDA)

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova

A trial project for agricultural development by the government-run Korea Program on International Agriculture (KOPIA) has earned global acclaim.

The Rural Development Administration (RDA) on Feb. 13 said it won the Global Future Fit Award with Uganda's National Agriculture Research Organization at the annual World Governments Summit (WGS), which ran from Feb. 11-13 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

The WGS launched the honor this year to pick and commend leading international projects or plans between governments. The RDA and the Ugandan organization are the inaugural winners of the award.

Founded in 2013, the WGS is an international forum where policymakers and experts from around the world exchange global knowledge. This year's event attracted about 6,000 participants including heads of state, ministers and delegates from global organizations and governments.

The summit focused on intergovernmental cooperation, food security and sustainability in selecting the pilot project for the orange town from among 200 entries.

Running the venture for three years since 2021 in the African country's Teso region, KOPIA's Uganda center has boosted productivity by spreading technologies to store rainwater and detecting spots on oranges. Such know-how has raised agricultural revenue.

The RDA said, "We will keep offering practical support to spread Korea's excellent advanced agrotechnology through the KOPIA center and help the agricultural advancement of developing countries."

aisylu@korea.kr