Food shortages among North Korean farmers are worsening amid the rise in grain prices in the country that began last year.<\/p>\n
According to a Daily NK source in North Korea on Thursday, only about 50% of farmers attached to collective farms are showing up for work.<\/span><\/p>\n South Pyongan Province carried out a survey of worker turnout at collective farms ahead of the full-scale start of the farming season. With attendance at a collective farm in Mundok County at 57%, worker turnout has been fairly low.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In particular, food-poor farming households reportedly account for most of the farmers who fail to show up to work. Many lack the energy to head to the fields due to hunger.<\/span><\/p>\n The source said a survey by the province revealed that not even 30% of farming households in the province have stored enough food to last until this autumn\u2019s harvest.<\/span><\/p>\n