Manpower shortage delays planting of this year’s spring wheat and barley
“Central authorities issued instructions to quickly complete the spring sowing, but there are not enough workers on the farms” (Image: iStock/Vitnija Saldava)
Following a directive on February 27 to agricultural institutions nationwide to complete planting by mid-March, the sowing of spring wheat and barley would appear to be in full swing across the country.
But if our information from North Hwanghae Province is anything to go by, there are problems which do not bode well for this year’s harvest.
Before sowing seed, fields must be ploughed and proper drainage and irrigation systems put in place. But in the province’s Koksan and Yontan counties chronic food shortages and a lack of manpower is holding up this preparatory work.
“Central authorities issued instructions to quickly complete the spring sowing, but there are not enough workers on the farms,” our source told us. “Most of the farmers cannot go to work because they do not have enough to eat. Or, if they do go to work, they lack strength and just pass the time.”
This is significantly slowing down the whole process, he said.
“Even more significantly, there is a shortage of young workers,” he said. “It seems all the young people who are able to work are either in the military or in the shock brigades. In the countryside, only elderly people and women are left.”
The source said that farm managers are going door to door, urging people to “come out for at least an hour of sowing work each day unless your mouth is covered with cobwebs.”
For a good spring wheat and barley crop, it is essential the soil be properly analyzed and a suitable environment prepared through plowing and fertilization. Seeds need to be sanitized and weeds removed to prevent pests and disease. Additionally, the appropriate variety for the local soil needs to be planted at the right time, and irrigation and drainage managed.
However, these principles are not properly followed due to a lack of agricultural materials and technology, as well as poor conditions. The end result is low productivity and poor crop quality.
Kang is a reporter at NK Times, a Seoul-based media outlet focused on North Korean issues. He was born in 1978 in Chongjin and graduated from Chongjin 1st High School in North Korea. After 10 years of military service in the 4th Army Corps, he attended Chongjin Agricultural University before defecting.
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