Farms Rent Land for 70-30 Split

Inside North Korean sources have confirmed that collective farms are now offering part of their land to non-farmers in exchange for 30% of production derived from it, in effect renting farmland to private individuals.

A source from North Pyongan Province told Daily NK on the 5th, “Farms in Shinuiju have started authorizing private individuals to cultivate land owned by the farms. There’s a whole queue of people wanting to rent land and till it.”

“There is no limit on the amount of land that people can borrow from the farms,” the source went on. “The amount of land leased is decided according to the amount of labor that it is possible to commit to it. They have made it clear that if the harvest is worth a total of ten, then seven goes to the individual and three to the farm itself.”

It is easy to see why people are keen to get involved in this tenant farming method of agriculture; it appears to be more favourable to the farmer than the existing system. Currently, factories and enterprises rent land from collective farms and farm it as a sideline, then divide a proportion of the yield up between workers. However, by farming land individually, people can realize greater benefits from increased effort, providing an incentive to work harder and longer.

A source from North Hamkyung Province corroborated the story, saying, “Cooperative farms here are renting land to individuals and factories at 70-30. There are more individuals doing it than enterprises, and the amounts of land taken range from a few tens of pyeong at the smallest all the way up to half a jeongbo (1500 pyeong; one square meter is equal to 0.3025 pyeong).”

According to the source, people currently view this as one of their best chances to ease food insecurity problems in the absence of state distribution.