OREANDA-NEWS. August 23, 2012. POSCO held the first graduation ceremony for the first graduates of the Mozambique Agriculture Training Center, reported the press-centre of POSCO.

At the graduation ceremony, Kim, Eungkyu, the head of CR Division, the director of agriculture department of Manesar, Mozambique, Cho Byeongseon, the head officer of Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and 60 other personnel and residents participated to congratulate the graduates.

The Mozambique Agriculture Training Center, operated in cooperation with POSCO, Korea Food for the Hungry International, and KOICA, opened last February in the Manesar region located approximately 90 km from Maputo, the capital city of Mozambique, to solve poverty issues in African local community and create jobs. 50 trainees were selected upon opening and taught awareness utilizing Korea`s Saemaeul (new community) education and advanced agriculture techniques using machines.

Graduates who have completed the training program to raise their capabilities will help community members produce crops at joint farms or return to each region to spread advanced agriculture technology to lead the fight against poverty.

In addition, POSCO will select 2 graduates with excellent grades and invite them to Korea for 10 days from August 20th to 30th, offering a chance to visit eco-farm and Pohang Steelworks.

Kim, Eungkyu, the head of CR Division encouraged graduates saying, ``Agriculture means there is a chance to escape from poverty, and having the chance for training means becoming a leader that acknowledges the responsibility to contribute to not only personal development but also the country`s economic development. I hope you all carry out your responsibility and become pioneers leading changes in Mozambique with the techniques learned here.``


The Mozambique Agriculture Training Center, where Prime Minister Kim Hwangshik also visited for encouragement last July during a tour of Kenya and Mozambique to create a base to enter the African market and discuss energy and resource cooperation in the region, starting with the first graduates will continue to select 100 trainees each year to foster them as agriculturalists.

Meanwhile, POSCO, in cooperation with Korea Food for the Hungry International and KOICA, is planning to complete an agriculture training center in Harare, Zimbabwe where a POSCO day care center is also located, selecting and training 100 trainees. In addition, a joint farm will be operated near the training center helpingHIV carriers earn continuous income for a stable lifestyle.