An agricultural artificial intelligence harvest and transport robot operates during a demonstration, Sept. 25, 2025. Yonhap
Korea moved to deepen agricultural ties with Uzbekistan this week, advancing exports of Korean dairy breeding technology and expanding cooperation on high-yield rice cultivation projects that officials said could help modernize farming in Central Asia.
The Rural Development Administration said Friday that Administrator Lee Seung-don visited Uzbekistan Wednesday and Thursday to strengthen the spread of Korean dairy and rice farming technologies through joint projects with the Uzbek government.
During a field demonstration at Sultan Farm in the Syrdarya region Wednesday, Korean embryo exporters and the Uzbek farm signed a letter of intent on the export and import of Korean dairy cattle embryos, formalizing plans for broader cooperation.
According to the administration, pregnancy success rates for cattle implanted with Korean dairy embryos reached 50 percent, compared with 30 percent for other imported embryos. Dairy cows treated with Korean veterinary medicines also produced an average of 2.4 kilograms more milk per day.
Lee later visited Uzbekistan’s Rice Research Institute, where he met with Namazov Shadman Ergashevich, head of the Agricultural Knowledge Innovation Agency, and Mansurov Abdullo Marufovich, director of the institute. The officials reviewed a Korean-backed rice mechanization project that has been under way since 2018.
The administration said the use of Korean rice-transplanting machinery reduced labor needs by 70 percent and increased productivity by as much as 52 percent.
On Thursday, Lee met with Uzbek Vice Agriculture Minister Jamshidjon Abdujakhurov and signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening expertise in livestock artificial insemination technologies.
The agreement includes joint research on livestock breeding technologies, exchanges of agricultural specialists and simplified registration procedures for animal medicines.
“This achievement goes beyond simply transferring technology,” Lee said. “It represents a virtuous cycle in which cooperation becomes embedded in local policy and connected to export partnerships.”
Source: Korea Times News
