Will wheat solve the food problem?
North Korean regime is putting more emphasis on the wheat production to solve food shortage (Image: iStock/xalanx)
Kim Jong-un is trying to shift food production over from corn over to rice, wheat, and barley, and the party’s daily rodong sinmun is reporting, not unexpectedly, that he is succeeding.
In a story this week, the paper talked of “historic transformations in socialist rural construction” with the country’s grain production structure.
Land under cultivation has increased by more than 15,000 jeongbo (almost 37,000 acres) over last year, and by 35,600 jeongbo (87.000 acres) compared to 2022, it said.
“It is expected that a large increase in grain production from wheat and barley fields will fulfill the national grain production plan,” the paper said.
Historically, under Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il-sung, the focus was on rice. This was changed to potatoes by his father, Kim Jong-il. The staples in recent years have been rice and corn, but Kim is stressing more wheat and barley.
In a speech in December 2021, during The 4th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the party, Kim stressed the need to change the people’s “dietary culture” to focus on “white rice and wheat-based foods.”
Experts overseas believe the reason for the change is that wheat allows for two crops, which is an important consideration as economic sanctions are making food imports difficult.
The problem is that double cropping requires fertilizer and the country is suffering from a chronic shortage. Given this, it is doubtful whether double cropping will succeed.
Given this risk, some are referring to his expansion of wheat and barley as “Kim’s gamble.”
Despite these concerns, wheat and barley production appears to have increased. Output in 2022 was 220,000 tons, a 22.2% increase from the previous year, according to South Korea’s Rural Development Administration.
“If food problems are alleviated even a little, and no one goes hungry, that’s great,” said Chae, who defected five years ago. “The issue is that while food prices might drop somewhat, people are required to meet certain quotas in submitting the wheat flour they produce to the state. Will this leave them with anything to eat?”
Chae said that the locally produced wheat is consumed by officials, while expired flour from Russia is supplied to markets for ordinary people.
Some South Korean media suggest the change is driven by the popularity of flour-based products in the jangmadang markets. They also say authorities are responding to a decrease in the demand for corn and an increase in the demand for flour.
“The soil in North Korea is highly acidic,” said Park, 58, a defector who used to work on an agricultural cooperative management committee. “Double cropping may seem feasible now, but it needs to be monitored. Double cropping wheat might reduce the yield of other crops, although wheat causes less soil acidification compared to corn.”
He also thinks the emphasis on wheat and barley makes sense from the fertilizer point of view.
“Wheat and barley require relatively less fertilizer than rice,” he said. “Given the severe shortage of compost and fertilizer and the blockade on fertilizer imports, they might be the only viable option right now.”
A, who lived in Hoeryong, North Hamgyong Province, said that most households prefer rice if it’s available. “Flour comes second,” she said. “It digests quickly. You don’t stay full for long. Raising two sons in North Korea, I often cooked rice mixed 50-50 with corn to make it more filling.”
“Bread and cookies made from flour don’t replace normal meals. They are usually eaten as snacks. To create a bread-eating culture as Kim Jong-un suggests, there needs to be an abundance of food of the sort he has. Even to make just bread, you need ingredients like baking soda. Men who do physical labor can’t sustain themselves on bread,” she said.
“I saw photos on the news of people buying bread, but that’s only possible in Pyongyang,” she said.
Jia defected from North Korea in search of basic freedoms, including the right to travel and freely express herself. Her identity as a North Korean has given her a sense of responsibility to represent the voices of her family and hometown friends and is also the reason she has chosen to work as a journalist.
Latest posts by Lee Jia (see all)
- Will wheat solve the food problem? - June 19, 2024
- Kim Yo-jong’s whopper: Poop balloons represent “People’s Freedom of Expression” - June 9, 2024
- Home delivery in North Korea - June 4, 2024