Geneva, December 2, 1997
- Worse than expected, better than feared, so summarizes Mr. Erich Weingartner, the findings of theFAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission for North Korea which is now being presented.Erich Weingartner is the NGO Liaison Officer at WFP in Pyongyang, coordination food shipmentsfrom ACT and other NGO's.
- At the beginning of the summer there were high expectations that we could see a bumper crop thisyear, Mr. Weingartner continues. The early rains were good for the maize seedlings. Then came thedrought and then the tidal waves. When the preliminary crop assessment was made in August, therewere real fears that we would have another calamity on our hands, surpassing even the previous yearsof flooding. Now with the statistics we have today we can say that food supply in North Koreacontinues to be extremely precarious and with it, the health and immune systems of a population whichhas had to deal with shortages for more than three years in a row. Malnutrition is perhaps lower nowthan it has been in months, partly because of the international intervention, partly because this is thebest time of the year, just after the harvest.
The maize harvest this year was badly affected by drought and it reached an all-time low, with lessthan 50 percent of a normal harvest. The country's main staple is rice and it is estimated that theharvest will be better than was expected earlier. The total rice and maize production is 2,66 millionmetric tons. The population of 23 million needs 4,6 million mt of cereal annually. The shortfall is 1,95million mt. It is hoped that 700,000 mt will be imported through commercial transactions and there isstill some 241,000 mt of pledged assistance in the pipeline. That means that the uncovered foodrequierements for the coming year will be in the range of 1 million mt of cereal.
It should be pointed out that the numbers are based on a minimal diet of rice and maize of about 75percent of the daily calorie intake per person. It represents 1600 kcal per person and day and assumesthere are additional sources of food.
Overall it is difficult to paint a just picture of the situation in North Korea. The reports that we get arevery sketchy. There are for instance no acceptable quantitative evidence regarding the present extent ofmalnutrition in the country, just to mention one parameter. The FAO/WFP report and reports receivedfrom visitors and other observers to the country indicate that the country is facing a very tough winter.
In august aid officials estimated that North Koreans were living off an average 150 grams of food perday, or about 12 spoonfuls, one-fifth the intake experts say is needed for a healthful diet.
Since 1995 North Korea has suffered a number of natural disasters which has seriously impeded thecapacity of the country to feed its people. It should be noted that previously the country was able toproduce its needs. North Korea has been struck by both a long-term drought but also with a typhoon inaugust which resulted in a huge tidal wave where 170,000 ha of the land was flooded. The salt watercaused enormous damages in the salt and coal mines and also washed away some large quantaties ofrice-corn.
The drought has emptied many of the reservoirs and the water will be lacking for the springpreparation of soils for planting. Paddies on the western seabord have been flooded by the tidal waveand are contaminated by salt.
FAO/WFP concludes in the report that the outlook for 1998 will be a fall in food production for thethird year running. Food production will only cover minimum needs for seven months.Right now it is a fight against time. The authorities, in what is called the "Public Distribution System(PDS), with the support of UN agencies and NGO's, are trying to distribute as much food as possibleuntil the winter makes a lot of the roads unaccessible. The food situation right now is as good as it willget. Over the last twelve months the unprecendented volume of food assistance to the country has beencrucial to sustain a large part of the population, without which the extent of malnutrition would havebeen far worse. And there are some positive statistics. A decrease in malnourishment among childrenhas been noted. But the cold during the winter will further weaken an already devastated immunesystem for especially vulnerable groups such as children and old people.
Food, blankets and winter clothing are being distributed in North Korea today. There is a need formedicines, fertilizers, seed, salt and soap. Fuel shortages are hampering the relief efforts and generaltransportation in the country.
It is important to note that the natural calamities caused by drought and floods, are just symptoms of asociety that is failing to provide for its citizens. The on-going emergency in North Korea is a structural,economic and political crisis. A crisis which has become more acute in recent years since the formerallies of North Korea, the former communist countries in Eastern Europe including the Soviet Union,have withdrawn its support.
There are reports that say that the industry in North Korea has stopped functioning because they lackraw materials and energy. And there are reports of a health care system that is breaking down.
At the same time the government is changing some of the policies of classical communist rule andthere are signs of a growing and more liberal private market.
For the short term relief aid the recommendation from the FAO/WFP assessment team is that foodassistance should be targeted to children in nurseries and kindergartens and to pregnant and nursingmothers. Supplementary feeding to school children in the ages from 7 to 12 is also recommended. Inthe medium and long term range food for work programmes should be considered for especiallyagricultural rehabilitation to enhance domestic food production.
ACT International and its member organisations have undertaken major relief efforts during 1997 anda new appeal will soon be launched for relief aid during next year. (See more information on thewebsite).
Peace talks about to begin
North Korea has agreed to take part in four-party peace talks beginning on december 9, because thecountry has been "promised" that the question of a US withdrawal from the South would be discussed.Apart from the two Koreas, the United States and China will participate in the talks. It has beenspeculated that North Korea's government feels a need to move forward with the peace talks to avoidthe risk of losing international aid to help the hungry people.
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