North Korea has again made the expansion of agricultural production one of its main tasks for the year, but the authorities are unable to provide the necessary supplies to farming communities, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a source in South Pyongan Province told Daily NK last Thursday that the warehouse of the Agricultural Supply Agency in Pyongsong is empty and has become “a paradise for rats.” The source added that the supply agency’s headquarters in Pyongyang and the provincial rural finance committee have taken a hands-off approach to the problem.
Supply agencies are agencies charged by the Cabinet with providing supplies to farms and businesses. For example, the supply agency under the North Pyongan Province Rural Finance Committee distributes agricultural supplies to local farms.
The supply agencies are supposed to provide various items to farms per the state plans, but the fact they are empty shows the seriousness of the agricultural supply shortage in North Korea.
Some empty warehouses have become “garbage dumps”
The source said the failure of the agricultural supply agencies to play their proper role “is a natural result of the lack of supplies from the central government.”
“Cases of empty agricultural supply agency warehouses in provincial capitals that have become garbage dumps or even criminal scenes are a serious social problem,” the source said. “If the situations at these agricultural supply agencies are this bad, the supply centers at higher levels must be even worse.”
Failure to deliver agricultural supplies to farms promptly could negatively affect farm preparations and overall agricultural production. However, North Korean authorities are not taking adequate steps to address the problem.
“People are saying that if the authorities can’t guarantee agricultural supplies, it would be better to abolish the agencies and use their buildings for housing,” the source said. “More and more people are saying that the authorities must immediately take measures [to deal with the problem].”
Daily NK was unable to confirm whether agricultural supply agencies in areas outside of South Pyongan Province suffer from the same problems.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
