Dairy cattle await to board an Asiana Airlines flight at Incheon International Airport, Dec. 22, 2022, headed to Nepal. They are part of 101 milk cows sent by Heifer International Korea, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Seoul Dairy Co-op as an official development assistance project for Nepal. Korea Times file By Chung Hwang-keun On a bitter cold winter day in December of 2022, 101 Korean milk cows boarded a plane to Nepal. As it was the first time that we sent live cattle overseas, the preparations were not easy. The public and private sectors worked hard together to ensure the success of the project. We built new wooden cages to safely carry heifers that were selected from farms across the country, based on their breed and health condition. Also, with the help of Asiana Airlines, we converted a passenger plane into a cargo aircraft where temperature and humidity levels could be controlled. Despite all these efforts, we had been constantly on pins and needles all the way until the heifers, aged less than 10 months, arrived in Nepal safe and sound. Then came the news of the young cows. After enduring a long journey of eight hours in flight and 10 hours on a freight truck, all of the 101 heifers finally arrived at a village in the district of Sindhuli in Nepal and all of them were in good health. It was as if a miracle came true after all of our prayers yearning for their safety. Just a half century ago, Korea was one of the underdeveloped countries in dairy farming with a cow producing a daily average of less than 10 litters of milk. Today, however, with a milk production volume of 32 litters per cow daily, Korea has the best productivity in Asia and ranks 6th in the world. This remarkable development was made possible through the help the international community offered to Korea. The nation was a virtual wasteland of dairy farming right after the Korean War. We received 900 milk cows and technical training from 1952 to 1976 from Heifer International, a global non-profit organization. Thanks to the international aid, we continued making nationwide efforts to develop a cow breed. This unwavering effort turned into today’s advanced dairy industry. The donation of milk cows to Nepal is a project planned by Heifer Korea, a Korean affiliate of Heifer International, seeking to give back the help we received in the past from the international community. To make the project possible, many Koreans participated in crowdfunding voluntarily, and dairy farmers donated their heifers. Livestock farmers, who started dairy farming with the milk cows provided by the international community, joined the milk cow donation, thus adding more significance to the project. Now, the Korean government is extending its support in diverse ways, beyond donating heifers, to ensure that the Nepali dairy industry can follow the path Korea had taken. In March this year, we provided more high-quality breeding bulls as well as dairy bulls’ semen for artificial insemination. In May and October, we dispatched experts to Nepal in the field of artificial insemination and breeding and disease management, who provided education and training tailored to the needs of local farmers. Recently, we heard news of the pregnancy of 31 heifers. Accordingly, we plan to send breeding experts to Nepal in February next year. To ensure that this significant outcome does not end as a one-off event, we will continue expanding official development assistance (ODA) projects for Nepal. Korea received international aid, including ODA, from countries around the world after the Korean War in the 1950s. Korea is also the only nation in the world that has transformed itself from an aid recipient to a donor country. Now, we are seeking to share our experience and know-how of the remarkable development with other countries and build stronger solidarity with the international community. Korea and Nepal have continued developing reciprocal and cooperative relations, based on long-standing trust and friendship. I would like to call for the support of the people of Nepal so that both countries can work together to create more fruitful outcomes. As the aid from the international community served as a driving force behind Korea’s remarkable economic growth built on the ashes of the Korean War, I sincerely hope that 101 Korean milk cows will bring a miracle to Nepal so that all of the people there can enjoy abundant and happy lives. Chung Hwang-keun is the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs