This study examines success factors and limitations for cases of agricultural development cooperation projects promoted in six Southeast Asian countries - Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Myanmar. As evidenced by the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the subsequent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the sustainability of agriculture becomes the foundation for achieving key goals such as eradicating poverty and hunger and achieving food security. Considering the reality of Southeast Asia where the majority of the population resides in rural areas, agricultural development cooperation is also directly related to efforts to improve the livelihood of local residents and to alleviate the development gap across regions. Recognizing its importance, the Korean government has implemented various types of development cooperation projects by focusing on rural development. Among them, Southeast Asia is a major target region for Korea's agricultural development cooperation. From the total amount of Official Development Assistance (ODA) programs in the field of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries invested in Asia from 2010 to 2018, 82.2% of the funds was used in the Southeast Asia region. Of these, the total amount of support invested in these six countries accounts for 97% of the total support in Southeast Asia. In this regard, this study, which analyzes the cases of six Southeast Asian countries, is expected to provide meaningful implications for improving agricultural development cooperation projects.
   In this study, cases were arranged in a balanced manner corresponding to the strategic goals of the mid-term rural development strategy established by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). Two cases were assigned for each type so that the implications of the comparative study could be gleaned. The strategic goals of mid-term rural development strategy established by KOICA are as follows: increasing agricultural output consistently and strengthening marketability, inclusive and sustainable rural development, and conservation of natural resources and production systems of agricultural and fishing villages by responding to climate change. The cases of Vietnam and Laos can be classified into projects related to the goal of increasing agricultural productivity and strengthening marketability. The difference in the two cases is that Vietnam case one is improving the value chain and the other the use of appropriate technology to meet the goals. For inclusive rural development, Cambodia and Indonesia cases were assigned. Cambodia is a typical comprehensive rural development program that has applied the Saemaul Undong(new village movement) model. The case in Indonesia is similar, but is differentiated in that the project focuses more on reinforcing the residents' capabilities to manage village-level corporations. The case of the Philippines and Myanmar can be classified as a project to cope with climate change. The difference is that the Philippines focused on building an eco-friendly agricultural system through agroforestry, while Myanmar focused on forest management.
   This study also included and assigned cases in consideration of diversity among implementing agencies involved in development cooperation projects, in addition to categorizing all projects by strategic objectives of Korea’s agricultural development cooperation into three types as mentioned above. Since the so-called “Busan Declaration,” which aimed to expand and strengthen public-private partnership at the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness held in Busan in 2011, has been adopted, the extent of participation by the private sector has greatly expanded in international development cooperation in Korea. This trend was also noticeable in the agricultural sector, which is focused by international development cooperation programs in Korea, resulting in a sharp increase in the number of public-private partnership projects and diversification of participants. In response, this study attempts to confirm the effect of private-sector participation by adding project cases led by the private sector in addition to projects directly undertaken by government agencies. Considering the diversity of participants in the private sector, cases were evenly organized into corporations, universities and academic institutions, and civil society organizations. Accordingly, among the cases covered in this study, only Cambodia was a project directly promoted by a government agency (KOICA), and all other cases consisted of projects involving the private sector. In the case of Vietnam, Korean private corporations participated; in the case of Indonesia, university took part; in the case of the Philippines, civil society organization participated; and in the case of Laos, academic organization took part. In the case of Myanmar, in addition to the ODA project carried out by government agencies (KOICA and Korea Forest Service), the project implemented by civil society organizations through the Social Contribution Fund was added as a case of comparative study.
   To hypothesize the factors of success, this study evaluates the performance of each case by comprehensively considering the results of previous studies, the five evaluation criteria of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC), and KOICA's standard performance indicators for rural development and organized a checklist of success factors. Accordingly, the list of success factor checklists prepared in this study has 22 items, which are commonly identified by participating researchers in all cases. It is important to note that the items presented in the checklist are shown in a single table for comprehensive summary and comparative analysis of success factors identified in this study. However, having more items in the checklist does not necessarily indicate that it is a more successful project. It is difficult to expect that a single case will satisfy all items in the checklist as the characteristics of individual project is different and the goals are set differently. Therefore, the comparison table presented in this study should not be used to show on how many detailed items each case encompasses. Instead, it should be used as a reference to identify the following: what factors contributed to the success of the case, how these and other factors are combined, and how well they are implemented.
   This study consists of three parts: introduction, case studies, and conclusion. Chapter 1, an introductory part, describes the purposes and methods of the study, and the composition of each chapter. In Chapter 2, agricultural development cooperation trends in Southeast Asia have been briefly introduced and the relevant previous studies and domestic and international project evaluation criteria have been reviewed to establish hypotheses for the cases subject to study. The results of the review are the items listed in the success factor checklist, and the success factors presented in the case study results of the main body are described around the items identified in this list.
   Chapters 3 to 5, the main body of this paper, are the results of analysis of development cooperation projects conducted in the six countries of Southeast Asia, which are the subjects of this study, classified by Korea's medium-term agricultural development strategy goals. The results of analyzing the outline, major achievements, and success factors of each case have been presented. Chapter 3 deals with the cases of Vietnam and Laos as the project type of “sustainable farm output and marketability.” The “Saemaul Project for Developing Agriculture Value-Chain in Ninh Thuan Province, Vietnam” is the Rural Development Creating Shared Value(CSV) project that aims to increase the income of the poor in rural areas through the CJ-partnership with KOICA to establish an agricultural value chain ranging from production to processing, distribution, and sales through technical education and market development. It was evaluated as an excellent project in that it not only properly set up project components to achieve its goals and enlisted participation of various stakeholders, but also utilized the technology of the enterprises and linked development cooperation with corporate activities. However, this case leaves another lesson, given that the limitations of this type of participation were clear. If a corporate entity participates in the value chain process, improving the market and opening outlets can contribute to the increase in farmers' income. However, it is difficult to ensure sustainable performance if companies do not keep their presence at the final stage of the value chain. In this regard, this case provides a lesson that the mechanism of organizing farmers and encouraging their voluntary participation must be included in the project components, in order for the effectiveness and impact to be a main success factor beyond the efficiency.
   The “Lao-Korea Sustainable Technology Center Project” is noteworthy as it is a case that demonstrates how the utilization of appropriate technology, which has focused on supplying eco-friendly energy sources, can be successfully applied to community development. The key achievement of this case is that the technical limitations of utilizing existing resources of the community were overcome by putting appropriate technology available in the local context. The fact that Korea's academic organizations and local universities in Laos established an Appropriate Technology Center, shared information, trained human resources needed for the projects, and systematically managed the project outcome is considered to be an advantage of cooperation projects initiated by academic organizations. However, by establishing an Appropriate Technology Center alone, it was difficult to create coherent systems such as continuous training for ethnic minorities in mountainous areas, harvesting, marketing, and sales of crops. Nonetheless, it is remarkable that the appropriate technologies were disseminated and applied up to the local community level, aiming to share development benefits with the community and to enhance sustainability of local production.
   Chapter 4 dealt with Cambodia and Indonesia as cases of “inclusive regional development” projects. The study of “Self-Supporting Rural Development Project with Saemaul Undong (SMU)’s Participatory Approach” analyzed the success factors of the New Community Movement Project, which was carried out across 30 villages in Cambodia from 2014 to 2018. In this case, the situational diagnosis and appropriateness of strategy, establishing the foundation for economic self-reliance, institutionalizing the local people's participation, and systematic follow-up management were cited as success factors that contributed to achieving the goal. It was mainly thanks to the fact that the project's plan was established based on a close preliminary investigation after selecting a pilot village with high potential for success through a feasibility study, which actively reflected the residents' demand and opinions in the process of establishing a detailed project plan. The fact that the possibility of economic self-reliance was increased by establishing an agricultural production base, and the project was promoted using the existing village organization was the main driving force that led to the trust and participation of the residents. In addition, the fact that the leading entities made periodic checks, guidance, and evaluation so that the project will not deviate from the original plan and that project budgets were given out differently depending on evaluation results to encourage inter-village competition were an important success factor.
   The “Yogyakarta (Indonesia) Community Capacity Building Project,” introduced as one of the model cases for university-led development programs, is a case in which village corporations are successfully run by the village residents themselves even after the program is over. The achievements of this project is not just limited to economic effects represented by income growth. The more important aspects of this project is that it elicited personal change in the form of the residents' improved self-esteem and self-confidence while at the same time the community-wide impact in the form of camaraderie, trust, and more democratic relationships among the residents. To make sure that previous errors would not be repeated, the entities leading the project readjusted the strategies of follow-up projects. The success of the project is also attributed to the strengthening of the pre-investigation to establish strategies suitable for local conditions, and to the enhancement of women's role and desire to participate in social activities so that women of similar backgrounds can be members of village corporations while creating a system for custom-tailored education and self-reliance. In addition, the fact that the project drew cooperation from local universities, civil society organizations, and local governments was also key to the project's continued performance and success even after the project was completed.
   Chapter 5 analyzes development cooperation projects promoted in the Philippines and Myanmar as cases of projects to cope with climate change. The study of the “Eco-friendly Crop Diversification and Income Increase through Agroforestry in the Philippines” reminds us of the lesson that organizing residents and strengthening their capabilities through education are key to establishing an eco-friendly agricultural production base in the community in a stable manner. The relationship between local universities and the people’s organizations in the Philippines, for which Korean civil society organizations have nurtured over a long period of time, has been the foundation for success. It was mainly thanks to the fact that contents and area of the project was selected based on continuous communication, while the project was monitored step by step to supplement problems. In particular, the following were also important factors in the project: small-scale farmers with low economic standing selected as major subjects of the project, cooperation from local landowners and local governments to secure farmlands needed to practice agroforestry, and the participation of indigenous peoples who used to damage forests due to slashing and burning of fields.
   The study of the “Dry Zone Forest Management Capacity Building Project in Central Myanmar” presented comparative implications by comprehensively analyzing ODA projects conducted by government agencies and follow-up projects carried out by civil society organization. The forest greening project in central Myanmar, where forest degradation is accelerating, can be evaluated as a project that actively accommodated the development needs of a recipient country, given that it was a support project for the forest restoration and management project that the Myanmar government has pursued for a long time. It was found that the forest greening project, which had been promoted four times over the past 20 years, has been successful due to the use of appropriate technology in consideration of the topographical and soil conditions of the area. More importantly, as the project was carried out four consecutive times, the management of existing projects was carried out through follow-up projects. However, these achievements reveal the limitations of Korea's development cooperation projects which are mostly short term. This means that if no subsequent projects are created, sustainability cannot be guaranteed. The Community Forestry model, which was conceived by civil society organizations involved in the project's fourth round but not realized by the ODA initiative, is considered an alternative development model to enhance the sustainability of the project while reducing reliance on ODA. The possibility can be seen in the case of the “Happy Water School” project, which was proposed as a comparative case with the forest greening project promoted by the ODA project, was initiated by the civil society organization through the Social Contribution Fund. Through the achievements and limitations of the projects implemented by the two organizations, this case shows that continuity and connectivity of the projects are important factors in ensuring the sustainability of the development cooperation project. At the same time, this case study suggests that public-private cooperation needs to be promoted more substantially in a way that fully demonstrates the capabilities of civil society organizations that have accumulated empirical knowledge and technologies in related fields and ensures their autonomy.
   Chapters 6, which corresponds to the conclusions, provides a summary of the results of the case analysis from Chapter 3 to 5, as well as policy suggestions and limitations of this study. Within the empirical range of the cases covered in this study, the policy implications and suggestions are largely summarized into the following five. First, even in development cooperation model planed for mobilizing community people such as the New Community Movement project, it is difficult to expect ideal outcomes without understanding the local context. Consequently, the strategies need to be applied flexibly based on in-depth understanding of the local conditions. Cases of this study show that this type of project can be successful only when thorough basic survey is conducted, custom-tailored strategies is designed, and the people participate actively as major actors. The village's willingness to participate can be guaranteed when the implementation plan is established through a thorough preliminary survey, and is referred it back to the people's open discussion. As the Cambodian case testifies, it is also a strategic approach to gradually increase the size of the project as a way to raise the expectation of continuing the project while making the residents experience the effects and benefits of the project in a short period of time.
   Second, in the case of public-private partnership projects, it is necessary to increase their proportion in Korean international development cooperation in the future and encourage the participation of various agents, while respecting their autonomy. The bottom-up public-private partnership approach fits perfectly with Korea's development assistance model given its relatively small budget. The analysis results of the cases of public-private partnership projects introduced in this study showed that private enterprises participate in projects in ways to diversify horizontal networks based on their unique expertise and value contribution. The participation of private enterprises has been a major contributor to market development and value chain improvement. It was found that the participation of local universities provides knowledge and expertise in the local area, as well as the provision of manpower, while contributing greatly to enhancing the sustainability of the project through human resource development. The participation of Korean universities has the additional effect of contributing to the development of talents in Korea. The participation of civil society organizations showed the possibility of enhancing sustainability by projecting their own value orientation into development cooperation. The autonomy of private institutions should be further guaranteed in the future so that these advantages of public-private partnerships can be fully realized.
   Third, it is necessary to review the implementation plans of new and follow-up projects in the direction of extending the project period as much as possible and strengthening continuity and linkage with existing projects. If the project is implemented continuously for a long time, the likelihood of success increases exponentially. Therefore, unless it is obviously unsuccessful, it is necessary to extend the project period. However, in order to increase the effectiveness and sustainability of the project, it is necessary to sequentially increases the project size as described above. It is also necessary to avoid simple extension or continuation of the project period without these considerations. In this regard, when selecting a follow-up project or a new project, it is desirable to check whether the project plan has been established in the direction of enhancing the linkage between the projects by utilizing the infrastructure or various types of resources established through the existing projects, and whether the evaluation and improvement plan is appropriate.
   Fourth, more attention and support are needed for the introduction and application of appropriate technology. Support for appropriate technology considering the level of technology competence, resources that are available or can be mobilized, and local knowledge level of the host country can greatly contribute to enhancing the sustainability of development cooperation. Additional effects of environmentally friendly development that have emerged as an important issue in recent years can also be expected. Considering the agricultural structure of Southeast Asia centered on small farmers, the introduction and application of appropriate technology is even more urgent. An approach that suits the local environment is more desirable to raise the level of local technology rather than simply transferring and transplanting state-of-the-art technologies possessed by Korea.
   Finally, it should be emphasized that people are the decisive actors who hold the success or failure of the development cooperation project. Material and technical support by itself does not bring happiness. All projects are carried out by people. The participation of local residents in the recent international development cooperation literature is important, but the role of those providing development assistance is even more important. The success or failure of the development cooperation project can be clearly determined depending on what competent field managers are deployed and how he/she communicates with local residents. The field orientation that strives to escape self-centeredness, the democratic attitude that listens to opinions from local residents, the connectedness that seeks harmony between the project team and the village's political process, and the adaptability to find and solve problems early on are the virtues required by our development workers. In order to possess these virtues, local knowledge and local communication skills are essential as well as development expertise. Therefore, it is essential for our development assistance programs to include these capabilities as important evaluation criteria in project selection and continuity assessment so that appropriate field managers can be selected. In addition, the achievements of fostering local human resources should be added to the evaluation criteria of development cooperation projects. This is because it is precisely the local talents who can succeed and develop the achievements further even after international development project teams leave the village. To this end, it is necessary to improve evaluation criteria so that long-term and systematic human resource development plans can be included in individual projects, rather than providing resident education only for the period during which the project is undertaken.