NCNK Newsletter Vol. 1 Number 5: AFSC'S Agricultural Program in the DPRK
NCNK Newsletter Vol 1. No. 5: AFSC'S Agricultural Program in the DPRK
Most NGO programs in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea incorporate exchanges with the DPRK into their work. The America Friends Service Committee has been hosting such exchanges since 1997, as described in the newsletter by AFSC Country Representative Wu Na below.
The National Committee on North Korea (NCNK) advances, promotes and facilitates principled engagement between citizens of the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It enables thoughtful dialogue about North Korea among experts from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences in an effort to foster greater understanding in the United States about the DPRK. Views expressed by individual NCNK members and/or contributors to this newsletter are their own and are not necessarily endorsed by NCNK and/or its individual members. To sign up for the newsletter, please send us a message by going to http://www.ncnk.org/who-we-are/contact-info, and putting Newsletter in the subject line. Earlier issues of the Newsletter are available at http://www.ncnk.org/resources/ncnk-newsletters.
AFSC's Agricultural Program in the DPRK
September 8, 2008
Wu Na
Almost every North Korean who has gone overseas has visited China, at least for a transfer to another country. However, very few North Koreans have traveled widely across different regions of China. Yet people in the DPRK are interested in learning more about the development process in China and the variation across different regions of China, for both its technical and social aspects.
In November 2007, I led a North Korean delegation composed of farm managers and farm technicians to visit cooperative and private farms, and agricultural institutions in three Chinese provinces. For most members of the delegation, this was their first trip abroad. One goal of the trip was to compare agricultural practices across different regions of China. Indeed, as our train traversed the 3,000 mile journey from the brown plains of Northeast China to the lush green fields of Hunan province our delegation remarked on the dramatic differences in agricultural practices and conditions. More surprising to the delegation was the substantial differences in agricultural practices even among adjoining farms in the same region of China.
As the China and DPRK Country Representative of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), I had designed this program to provide a broader, comparative perspective on Chinese agriculture and to help the delegation learn about the kind of management decisions that Chinese farmers are making today. In northern China, a number of farms are still run on the cooperative model. The North Korean farm managers were particularly interested in learning how Chinese collective farms are managed. For instance, while many rice cultivation practices in Liaoning province, such as transplanting methods, are similar to those used in the DPRK, the Chinese approach to seed breeding differs from the process used in North Korea.
In southern China, where the farming is far more labor-intensive and almost all farms are managed by individual families, the DPRK participants were surprised by the diversity of agricultural practices in a single region. Adjoining farms growing similar crops in similar climate and condition were using different agricultural tools, planting different seed varieties, and employing different planting and harvesting techniques. Some farmers were even designing their own tools based on their own needs, such as a homemade rice seeder.
The chance to talk with individual Chinese farmers about their choices and reasons for their decisions was valuable for the delegation. Chinese farmers learn from their neighbors about new equipment, seed varieties and techniques, since having farmers experiment with using different seeds, tools and practices speeds up the selection of the best practices for that particular area's economical, social and natural conditions.
History of AFSC work in DPRK
AFSC has been active on the Korean peninsula since the time of the Korean War. Since 1980 AFSC has cooperated with partners in the DPRK to promote an unofficial dialogue between North Korea and the United States, and between North Korea and its neighbors. AFSC has also worked for a more constructive United States government foreign policy toward the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia. AFSC's emergency assistance program to the DPRK began in 1995. AFSC soon began exploring expanded support through AFSC's long term partner, the Korean Committee for Solidarity with the World's People (KCSWP). In 1997 AFSC was one of the first two NGOs able to work directly with cooperative farms in the DPRK.
AFSC's Agriculture Rehabilitation and Development Program developed gradually. AFSC began with one farm, and now provides material and technical assistance to four farms. Fertilizer contributions and other inputs from AFSC helped the farms raise production. Even as provision of consumable supplies has been reduced, the farms have maintained a higher production level as farming techniques have improved.
AFSC assistance initially consisted of fertilizer, herbicides and other farming supplies. As trust grew, AFSC supported experiments with new crops and cropping systems.
In 1997 AFSC began sponsoring delegations of DPRK agricultural specialists to other countries. Over the last decade, such delegations have traveled to the United States, Canada, China, and Vietnam to study subjects such as rice and corn breeding, improved efficiency in animal production, and organic farming.
Sometimes it is easy to measure the impact of a study tour. For example, during one of the study tours to China, the DPRK delegation compared many animal breeding farms, from high-tech breeding plants for the European market to more modest facilities run by local farmers. After comparing the requirements for establishing each kind of facility, the DPRK delegates selected the technique they thought was most compatible with conditions in their country.
The close relationships developed during study delegations between AFSC representatives and DPRK specialists strengthens cooperation and program implementation inside the DPRK. Through these study delegations, AFSC's partner organizations in the DPRK have engaged more with other agriculture experts from different countries. As a result, agriculture experts from US, Vietnam and China have conducted a number of workshops in the DPRK.
Most AFSC study delegations include scientists from the Academy of Agriculture Sciences. The AAS is responsible for developing and/or testing all new seeds and agricultural techniques before they are approved for use by the cooperative and state farms. AFSC has supported the AAS with seeds and technical information for a research project to develop the use of green manures in rice paddy farming systems in a project that has included the cooperative farms, AAS and study delegations.
AFSC has found that extended and short-term visits to Vietnam and China have been particularly effective in stimulating discussion of new ideas between farm, technical and policy levels and establishing institutional connections. The study tours have given DPRK delegates the opportunity to learn about how these countries addressed the difficulties and obstacles they encountered during the process of their agricultural development.
Future of AFSC's Agriculture Program with the DPRK
Over the next few years, AFSC will work closely with DPRK partners to explore effective ways to help implement and expand the application of sustainable farming techniques and technologies. Addressing implementation and applications will require working closely with DPRK partners to understand the particular challenges and opportunities that exist at the farm, institutional, and policy levels. Study delegations to other countries will remain an important component of AFSC's agricultural program. AFSC will continue to provide opportunities for DPRK scientists, farm managers, and officials to visit neighboring countries, as well as Europe and North America, in order to explore different agricultural techniques and systems.
