Korean Advanced Agricultural Technology Exported To China

``I will devote the rest of my life to the development of agricultural technology and the cooperation between Korea and China for the common good of the farmers in the two nations.``

Choi Jong (60, photo), professor of agricultural chemistry at Kyongbuk university, is entrusted May 16 as agriculture counselor of Pingdu city in Sandung, China.

Pingdu city, which mainly produces wheat, cotton and vegetables, is one of the representative agricultural cities in China, among whose 1.34 million population 1.2 million people are engaged in the agriculture related jobs.

Prof. Choi, who recently returned from his visit to Pingdu, said that, when he considered the difficulty that Korean farmers had gone through because of agricultural import from China, he was at first reluctant of accepting the offer to be the agricultural counselor of China. However, he finally concluded that he could contribute for the benefits of the farmers in both countries.

Prof. Choi, whose specialty is in soil improvement, is to teach them the methods to fertilize soils and the methods of agricultural product storage, advanced plantation technology, and information of new breeds.

Pingdu city promised to provide Prof. Choi with housing, office, and laboratory farm (40.000 pyong).

Prof. Choi, who left three years to retire, is to work during the summer vacation until 2003 and will stay there after his retirement. He also plans to export Korean packing technology of fertilizers, seedlings, agricultural chemicals, and the storage technology developed by the Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology in Kyongbuk University. And with the royalty received from China, he is to import cheap Chinese mineral matters.

Jeong Yong-Kyun cavatina@donga.com