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| d. Agricultural Management System & Production Structure |
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| panoramic view of rebuilt Poman Ri village in Sohung County, North
Hwanghae Province |
The organization of DPRK¡¯s agricultural
management system is done in the following way : County
Cooperative Farm Management Committees and Provincial Farm Management
Committees in cooperation with the Central State Agricultural Committee
manage each unit in each village¡¯s Cooperative Farm. The National
Planning Commission which is in charge of nationwide planning for
all economic activities is the major authority controlling and managing
agricultural activities in DPRK. The County Farm Management Committee
provides farmers with professional guidance and manages all Cooperative
Farms in each County as well as all State agricultural enterprises.
The Ministry of Agriculture directly controls Provincial Farm Accounting
Committees, State-run farms and ranches and State enterprises in the
agricultural sector. Each province and city / county has an Agricultural
Committee managing production plans and controlling the activities
of Cooperative & State-run farms and agricultural enterprises.
Under each Provincial Farm Accounting Committee, there are 15~20 County
( Gun ) Farm Management Committees. County Farm Management Committees
were established in December 1961 following Cabinet Resolution N.157.
The original objective was to control the production of agricultural
machinery factories and other agricultural facilities owned and managed
by the Government. The Village ( Ri / Dong ) Committee is the focal
point for plans, machinery supplies, irrigation and seed supplies.
Each Cooperative Farm has a Management Committee overseeing Working
Groups subdivided into Sub-Groups of 5~8 farmers according to their
specialty. The County Farm Management Committee operates various workshops,
assisting in the streamlining of plans, technical training, labor
administration, book keeping inspection, land reclamation and construction
works within the area.
Following the establishment of County Management Committees in 1961,
Provincial Farm Management Committees were launched in October 1962
to take over tasks previously done by the Ministry of Agriculture
in compliance with the newly introduced Chongsanri
Method launched by Kirn Il Sung in February 1960 and in
line with the abolition of the Myon ( Township ) administrative unit
( which still exists in South-Korea ) and the increase of Ri ( village
) units in the late 1958. From this date onwards, Cooperative Farms
were regrouped by Ri. This integration process enabled the creation
of full-fledged administrative organizations that go beyond their
initial economic dimension. The basic characteristic of a Ri are the
following :
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The Village Committee's Chairman also serves as the head
of a Cooperative Farm Management Committee, thus combining the
Administrative and Economic roles. |
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All farmer organizations, such as consumer groups and credit
unions within a cooperative farm are integrated in a Ri. |
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Cooperative Farms provide education, leisure activities and
welfare to communities and distribute food and agricultural
supplies to each smaller unit and family. |
There are 2 main types of farms in DPRK :
| a. |
Cooperative Farms :
are managed by farmers and they integrate production means.
They are jointly owned and managed at the village level. However,
the food crisis forced the Government to allow the constitution
of Working sub-groups in Cooperative Farms organized along family
lines in order to increase productivity. This recent authority
shift from the Central Government to Local Governments is proof
that the limits in the food supply capability of the DPRK Government
have been reached. There are approximately 3.300 Cooperative
Farms in DPRK and in an average cooperative, about 300 families
divided into 5~10 Working groups ( each working group has 50~100
farmers ) cultivating 500 ha of land. Working groups have about
3~4 sub-groups consisting of 15~20 people. Recently, the number
of farmers was reduced to five-eight. Each working group usually
concentrates on cultivating one crop and working groups are
classified into vegetable units, fruit tree units, crop units
and industrial crop units according. Although one working group
generally concentrates on one crop, occasionally some working
groups grow two or more crops. |
| b. |
State-run Farms :
are managed directly by the Government like the Sovkhozes of
the former Soviet Union and tend to be modern large mechanized
production units that the authorities are eager to show to foreigners
as the model of socialist agriculture. They are owned by the
Government and are managed at the County level. Compared to
Cooperative Farms, State-run Farms tend to be better supplied
with fertilizers, pesticides and farming equipments which clearly
results in a higher productivity and thus regularly appear in
the State propaganda ( see picture ). |
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| partial view of the Ryokpo District Stock Breeding Farm in
the south of Pyongyang |
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Peace