With the fall harvest period fast approaching, sources in North Korea have reported that the North Korean government is taking countermeasures to prevent the loss of grain this season. In conjunction, the government is also threatening severe punishment for those responsible for missing grain.
In July, government officials inspected farms across the entire country to survey damage from a combination of abnormal temperatures and the natural disasters that occurred over the summer, including Typhoon Soulik and numerous floods. After the survey, the authorities made predictions in the beginning of September on each individual farm’s estimated crop yield.
“In the first part of September, the Ministry of People’s Security (MPS, North Korea’s police force) held meetings at schools and farms where they publicly announced a state decree regarding the prevention of grain loss,” a source in Ryanggang Province reported on September 25.
The declaration focused on how the grain harvest this year had encountered setbacks from floods and drought, emphasizing the need for precautions to be taken to prevent the loss of grain when harvesting.
The major causes of “loss of grain” noted by the North Korean government include: using grain to repay farm loans, theft of grain by workers during harvest, and the illegal trade of grain in the market.
Large farms typically lend funds needed to purchase farming equipment, crude oil, plastic, and fertilizer to individuals at the beginning of each year. These loans are then repaid through an exchange of goods, with a portion of the grains harvested at the end of the season given to the lenders. The North Korean government does not recognize this form of lending and views such payments as illegal.
Officials have also stated that any attempts by farmers to secretly set aside grain for themselves during the harvest will be severely punished. They will also not be turning a blind eye this year toward merchants who trade goods for grain and sell it from their vehicles.
“This decree wasn’t just posted for us to read, Ministry of People’s Security officials traveled around the country and personally read the contents aloud, letting us know that if needed, armed guards and possibly even the military may be deployed to oversee the harvest,” a source in North Hamgyong Province reported.
Agricultural reforms and production increases have enabled farms to largely operate autonomously in recent years, however, the sudden regulations and surveillance being imposed on farms by the government is causing concerns amongst farmers that they will not have anything left over for themselves after the harvest.
Speaking on this issue, Seo Jae Pyong, the Secretary General for the Association of North Korean Defectors stated, “In response to worries about grain yield this year caused by natural disasters in North and South Pyongan provinces and North and South Hwanghae provinces, the wheat belt of North Korea, the government is taking preventive measures without actually understanding the extent of the damage. The portion of grain taken by the government will not be fully determined until we know how much the farmers are able to harvest.”
He continued, “After the harvest is completed, the government will take 30% for themselves, and then after farming debts are repaid and grain is set aside for next year, whatever is left over will be distributed to the people. It is entirely possible that if supply is lacking, the government may distribute paper vouchers instead of actual grain.”
*Translated by Brian Boyle
