Daily NK
Kim Yong Hun
3/5/2007
It has been confirmed that North Korean authorities have distributed food rations to farmers in the border regions. It seems that the farmers were given first priority to the distributions, in an attempt by authorities to prevent further trends of defect that arose in December last year.
An inside source from North Korea informed on the 28th “Last December, Songhak farm, Obong farm, Changhyo farm in Hoiryeong, North Hamkyung delivered 100% of food distributions to the workers in the form of crops. In the past, food was distributed to workers after food subsidiaries for the nation and military had been extracted. This is the first time that 100% of food has been distributed.”
The rations were given in the form of corn 70% and rice 30%. The rice had been distributed in its original form, chaffs and all. Even though the rice was dispersed yet to be threshed, the fact that the distributions amounted to the full 100% greatly amazed the local farmers.
This is the first time since 1990 that North Korean authorities have given priority to the farmers without confiscating part of the distributions for the army.
According to the source, North Korean authorities have been distributing food rations to the farmers in the border regions in equal amounts as across the nation, as an order was made last November for “farmers (to) prevent acts of escape and illegal acts.”
The farmers pointed out “If we exclude the corn cob and outer layers of a corn, the amount of actual corn that is edible is about 60%. As for rice, the amount a person can eat is about 80%” and explained, “In the past, about 40% of farm produce was set aside for the nation. In comparison to the times where food was redistributed to the army, we are in fact receiving 30% more.”
However, though there has been an increase in distributions, it seems that the farm’s managerial secretaries, operation managers and team leaders are intermingling in the rations by taking all the edible rice and corn, while topping up the shortages in the farmer’s distributions with the outer layers of corn and cob and rice chaff.
In comparison to the amount of rations received by the farmers last Dec, the recent 70% corn and 30% rice means that at the maximum 320kg or minimum 250kg of food was distributed per person. Families with dependent children received 70kg of rations if the dependents were in elementary school and 120kg for dependents in middle school. If one’s spouse was able to partake in common labor, they would be exempt from the rations, but in the case that the spouse was disabled or a patient, then the family would receive rations similar to that of middle school students, 120kg.
However, farmers are complaining that the distributions would decrease by July as “Since last September until December, all essential food had already been taken from the farms and consumed. Once this has been depleted, the vicious cycle of food shortage will continue,” say the farmers.
