Republic of Korea Reclaiming Eroded Uplands for Farm Production

A five-year project is being carried out in the Republic of Korea by its Government with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as executing agency. The project is a crucial drive to increase food production. Only one-fifth of the country is cultivated while agricultural production has increased only by an average about two per cent in the 12 years preceding 1967. Meanwhile, the population steadily increases. The government is now undertaking steps to convert 400,000 hectares of eroding uplands into productive farmland. The work is being carried out on the Ansong-Chon and Tongjin-Gang watersheds, and the Sangju watershed in the Naktong River Basin at a cost of around $3,300,000. Bench terracing under construction with the help of local farm labour. [1969]