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[Hot Topics]
The Poorest Harvest in 80 Years" in Yangduk County
Talk of "the poorest harvest in 80 years" seems to be spreading throughout the nation. One can hear such talk, which originated in North Hamgyong Province, even in Yangduk County, South Pyongan Province. Even this region has been the victim of severe drought, as evidenced by the low grain yield. Residents barely survived on porridge during the 150-Day Battle. As the 100-Day Battle starts, immediately after the 150-Day Battle, residents rely on acorns collected in the mountains or other herbs. The shortage has caused any 'zeal for battle' to disappear and nobody is enthusiastic about work. There was once a time when the name 'Yangduk' represented a good liquor, well-known throughout the nation. The area was also praised as a place where the management of public hygiene and landscaping was excellent after the days of the Chollima Movement . Yangduk County, a place that residents were proud of, started losing its reputation because of how army units abused the forests. Blatant woodcutting by military units causes landslides whenever there is a heavy rain. Severe flood damage in 2006 and 2007 were man-made disasters, strictly speaking. As usual, this year, even though flood damage was anticipated, the county party and county administration committees could not devise any preventative measures against them. Such a wonderful and livable place has now become stricken with severe natural disasters. Residents sighed as they suffered from flood damages during the past years. All of a sudden, this year brought severe storms and drought, earning it the name 'the year of the poorest harvest in 80 years.'
Even on the Yeonbaek Plains, "Unable to Visit Ancestral Tombs Due to the Poorest Harvest in 80 Years"
Farmers on the Yeonbaek Plains in the counties of Yeonan, Baechun, Chungdan and Ryongyeon, South Hwanghae Province claim that, "This year's harvest is the lowest in 80 years." Party leaders have become extremely concerned. "Opening the gate to a prosperous and strong nation requires, more than anything else, resolution of problems in food shortage. This year's crop is so poor that everyone has been saying, 'how can we feed ourselves next year and continue farming?'"
Farmers in this area swarm to the riverside. Carrying a few days' worth of provisions, they live in tents and collect gold dust. They can make 2,000 to 3,000 NKW a day by collecting gold dust. Farmers say, "With this year's poor harvest, it has become apparent that at least three to four months' worth of grain will be taken from us at the end of the year to be used for military provisions." Therefore, they say they would rather make money from prospecting gold dust than rely on anything from the grain rations.
Each work unit consists of approximately sixty families, 45% of whom survived on porridge last May. The poorest families did not have anything to cook, and they survived on soy plants plucked from the fields, boiled with cabbages. Malnutrition has caused more deaths among the elderly over the age of sixty than it did last year. Many elderly people say, "Watching our married children suffer from a shortage of food really hurts. What is there to live for? I would rather die in peace than watch them suffer."
Moreover, there are many families who could not afford to visit their ancestral tombs on the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival. They could not afford a bowl of rice as part of the ritual for the deceased. Annually, it has been customary that families are provided with a few kilograms of rice, from the early crop, before Mid-Autumn Festival. As usual, the provincial party approved as a provision for each family a ration of 2.7 Kg of grain. The problem was that each family, regardless of the size, was given the same amount. Naturally, larger families ran out of food before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Residents wonder whether the situation will improve when the harvest season is over. However, the fact that the crop output is less than last year has made residents very worried. A party leader of Haejoo commented, "If the food crisis is this serious in the 'representative warehouse region of rice', how serious is it in the other regions?"
Frustrated Hopes for Success in Two-Crop Farming at Anjoo City Cooperative Farms
Leaders of the Farm Management Committee of Anjoo City, South Pyongan Province set up a plan "to solve the problem of food shortage with a two-crop farming system during the 150-Day Battle in order to receive good evaluations." The plan did not produce the desired result. This year, all the work groups attempted two-crop farming, pairing potatoes and corn or potatoes and potatoes. Even when farmers were absent from work due to a lack of food, the primary party leaders went to their homes and pushed the farmers to work. They emphasized the need to enrich the soil. Accordingly, they paid a great deal of attention to the collection of Heukbosan fertilizer and farmyard manure. Their estimate of this year's harvest was at least 1.2 times that of an average year. However, as of October, the actual output has not been any better than last year. Thirty MT of Heukbosan fertilizer was given to the fields with the first crop of the pair and twenty MT was given to the field with the second crop of the pair, to little effect. "Heukbosan" fertilizer is, in fact, nothing more than a mixture of dirt, straw and human excrement. It is a fertilizer of the lowest quality. All farmers worked harder during this year's 150-Day Battle than any other period of the year, with nothing to show for their redoubled efforts. They were disappointed and discouraged. Every farmer is worried about how much grain they will receive from this year's harvest after the military has taken their share for provisions. Their only hope is that the party leaders' apportionment of the grain rations will be just and fair.
Yeonpoong Farm Anticipates a 40% Drop in its Corn Harvest
An assessment by Farm Management Committee of Anjoo City, South Pyongan Province concludes that the corn harvest of Yeonpoong Farm this year will be about 40% less than last year's. On the other hand, the rice output is estimated to be a little higher this year. The high expectations of the Farm Management Committee of South Pyongan Province were frustrated by the low yield at Yeonpoong Farm, which had received more fertilizer than other farms. Additionally, farming experts organized many technical presentations on the advances of modern farming. Food shortages among the farmers have caused many problems when it came to staffing the facility. Nonetheless, the farmers paid close attention to eliminating absenteeism during the 150-Day Battle.
After the military took their share of provisions, farmers were provided with only three months' worth of grain at last year's harvest. Farmers tried their best to save food, but surviving through the 'difficult' spring months was a formidable task. Because the military even took away all of the fresh potato crop and the barley, farmers had to roam around the mountainous areas to collect edible herbs and fed themselves with a porridge of crushed corn during the 'corn field weeding battle' of May and June. Families with many dependent children and elderly parents suffer the most. Yeonpoong Farm is organized according to nine regular work units and one independent group. Usually about ten families in each work unit were absent from work because they ran out of food.
During harvest time, this farm, along with many others, selects five people from each farm work group for security guard duties. Their guard duty lasts twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, without any shift changes. Most of the time, it is farmers who steal grain from the fields. These farmers conspire with the guards and steal corn or rice. Of course, they divide their spoils among themselves. One of the housewives who participated in the theft of corn some time ago complained, "The party leaders took their designated share of grain rations. At first, that share was 30% corn and 70% rice, but later they took 100% only in rice and no corn. Nothing was left for the rest of us. Even if it is only by theft, shouldn't we also survive?"
DaeHongDan County SamJang Group, Expects 20% Reduction in Potato Production Compared to Last Year
Ryanggang Province DaeHongDan County SamJang Group expects 20 a percent reduction in potato production compared to last year. Farmers agree, based on their experience, that harvest this year is much lower than last year. Officials were disappointed because there was not much improvement despite full utilization of farmers through the 150-day battle period. Farmers raised a seed issue stating that, especially this year, they found a lot of seeds without potato buds. There are eight work units in SamJang Group that do very well on potato farming. Each work unit has eight subunits. Most of them are veterans from other regions. Approximately 70 percent of them are veterans from other regions, and the remaining 30 percent of them are farmers in this region. Each work unit is responsible for more than 100 farming areas. In the past, they were well equipped with germless seeds, Russian tractors, and various other facilities.
Since 2000, the machine utilization rate has dropped significantly because the machines are aging, there is no oil, and there are no spare parts to fix the glitches. Moreover, production is also hindered because seeds are not cultivated properly. One of the farm workers said the potato yield is poor this year as well because of these chronic problems.
DaeHongDan County SinHung Group, potato yield 50% less than last year
This year, the potato yield of Ryanggang Province, DaeHongDan County, SinHung Group is expected to be 50 percent less than last year because of the poor potato farming. Potato buds seemed to be fine, but the absence of timely fertilization caused the problem. The damages worsened because of the draught. When farmers estimated the potato yield, it turned out to be less than half of the last year's potato crop. Moreover, the yield is dropping more because the hungry farmers eat potatoes as soon as they ripen. In SinHung Group, about 200 veterans who got discharged in August 1999 work in the six working units. Many veterans ran away because the climate was bad and the work was tough. Other veterans still live in houses that the County Party has provided, but the living conditions are very bad because of the poor potato harvest. Next year is expected to be more difficult to make a living because they need to sell potatoes in order to buy grains and other necessities to live there, yet workers are expected to have less than half of the potatoes compared to last year. Meanwhile, DaeHongDan County Party administration, and rural management officials are conducting the political project regarding the 100-Day Battle. On October 7 officials hosted a meeting to reinforce the 100-day battle spirit and visited organizations, universities, professional schools and middle schools in order to preach the importance of a potato production. The main message was as follows: "Now we are striving for the 100-day battle to make a powerful nation despite the food shortages. Potato harvesters, you are the nation's food providers. Let's harvest every single potato to help resolve the food shortage problem. This is essential to build the economic powerhouse."
[Food]
Porridge-Eating Households Increases Rapidly Since Early Fall in Jungpyung County
Many households in Jungpyung town in Junpyung County in the South Hamgyong Province are surviving on porridges. Approximately 1/3 of the families began surviving on porridges since last August, and the fall only increased the number of families surviving on porridges. Families must ration their food supply because of the expected poor crop yields and the lack of means to earn money due to strict market control. Even the well-off families are replacing one of their two meals with porridges.
60% of Danchun Magnesite Factory Workers Are Absent Due to Lack of Food
Approximately 60 % of the magnesite factory workers in Danchun City in the South Hamgyong Province are absent due to food shortage. In some workplaces, 20 out of 70 workers miss work. The threat made during the 150-Day Battle, that the absentees will be arrested and sent to the discipline center, did not have much effect. The absentees are saying it is better to go to the discipline center and eat corn meals three times a day than to starve at home. Some are complaining, "If you want to send the absentees to the discipline center, wouldn't you end up transforming the factory into a discipline center?" or "It would be better to change the name of the magnesite factory to an absentee discipline factory." The magnesite factory has not been able to supply food to its workers since June of 2007. Because, there is no work at the factory, workers must find other work in the farm or other various labor mobilizations. Therefore, factory workers say, "Send me to the discipline center if you like."
