Amid North Korea’s calls for increased food production following the designation of agriculture as the “major point of attack” at the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), Daily NK sources have reported that North Koreans are criticizing the authorities for demands to achieve unrealistic increases in farm production.
“The government demanded that we increase the production of grain this year and is hounding people more than ever,” a North Hamgyong Province source told Daily NK on Jan. 20. “They are ordering us to submit plans to increase production on an individual and work unit basis, but everyone is frustrated because they don’t know what to do.”
At the year-end plenary meeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that “the agricultural front is the major point of attack in the offensive for frontal breakthrough,” and that North Korea “must adopt scientific farming methods and more fiercely raise the strong wind for increasing crop yields.”
Moreover, at a conference held from Jan. 17 to Jan. 19 in Pyongyang to review last year’s successes in the agricultural sector, participants resolved to “more fiercely raise the strong wind for increasing crop yields” and “defend the Korean revolution and precious socialism with rice.”
Rodong Sinmun and other North Korean outlets continue to emphasize increased agricultural production and urge North Koreans along these lines. North Koreans, however, are reportedly frustrated that these calls are little more than propaganda slogans devoid of any practical plans to improve crop yields.
For example, Rodong Sinmun reported on Jan. 1 that Kim Jong Un had pointed out the need to increase the “mechanization” of farm work and manage the country’s farmland in a “unified manner.”
Daily NK sources pointed out, however, the unrealistic nature of Kim’s instructions to “increase mechanization.”
“We undoubtedly need to bring more advanced technology and mechanization into farmwork, but it just seems like fantasy to attempt that right now,” one source explained. “[North Korea] faces the sad reality that all it can do now is fantasize about such changes; [the authorities] don’t have any plans or are even thinking about preparing any.”
At the 7th Congress of the WPK in 2016, North Korea approved a five-year plan for economic development and announced that it would increase agricultural mechanization by 60% to 70%. At the time, North Korea’s agricultural mechanization seems to have been just under 50%. Based on the fact that North Korea has not yet announced that this goal has been achieved, it stands to reason that the mechanization rate this year—the last year of the five-year plan—is still under 60%.
THE FIELD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM VS. THE INDEPENDENT FIELD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Daily NK sources suggested that North Korea’s recent attempts at agricultural reform need to be expanded to increase agricultural production. Namely, they pointed to the field management system and the individual field management system.
The field management system was implemented in 2012, in the wake of Kim Jong Un’s policy speech “On the Establishment of a New Economic Management System.” In changing the basic farming unit from a collective farm (bunjo) to a small-scale family-run field (pojon), the system has required farmers to send only part of their harvest to the state while allowing them to keep the rest. Trial runs of the system in some areas of the country have reportedly been moderately successful.
In an article titled “Agricultural Production and the Role of County Party Committees” published on Jan. 20, the party’s mouthpiece, Rodong Sinmun, reported that “properly implementing the field management system…is an important move that boosts the responsibility and productivity of farm workers.” In short, North Korea has been emphasizing the importance of the field management system through state media.
North Korea’s other, more recent, agricultural reform measure, the individual field management system, was originally introduced in North Pyongan Province. North Korean authorities then expanded the system to several regions in Ryanggang Province in 2019. Under the system, each farmer is given 300-500 pyong (around 991 to 1650 square meters) of land and must take full responsibility for the entire farming process.
“The party’s current agricultural policy is aimed at expanding the individual field management system rather than the field management system, which has allowed families instead of farm units to manage farm land,” one source told Daily NK. “Because the field management system produced fairly decent crop yields, there seems to be a willingness at the top to take this further and place the full brunt of responsibility for farming on individual farmers.”
AGRICULTURAL REFORM AT A CROSSROADS
Ultimately, Kim Jong Un has the final say on whether to fully implement the individual farm management system and rumors suggest that officials are carefully watching to see what he’ll do, one source told Daily NK.
“The success of the individual field management system so far makes it likely in my opinion that Kim will approve [expanding the program],” he added.
Daily NK sources suggested, however, that it is difficult to predict whether North Korea’s new “frontal breakthrough” campaign will lead to efforts by the state to strengthen the existing agricultural system or implement more reforms.
“Interestingly, there are people talking openly about hopes for a shift to the individual field management system this year,” one source said. “Kim’s push for a ‘frontal breakthrough,’ however, means that it’s difficult to predict what direction things will take.”
*Translated by Violet Kim
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