Active efforts are being made in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to satisfactorily solve the people’s food problem by decisively increasing the agricultural production.

    Agriculture is the major thrust in the economic construction in the DPRK.

    Distinctive in the efforts for solving food problem in Korea is, first, that she set the main orientation of the agricultural development for solving food problem in accordance with her concrete realities and thoroughly implements it.

    What is important in the main orientation for solving food problem is to hasten the seed revolution and the potato farming revolution, develop the soybean farming and widely introduce the double-cropping.

    First of all, primary effort is being directed in improving the seeds.

    It is a precondition for increasing the agricultural production to make good-grade strains of seed suited to the climatic and soil conditions of the country.

    Out of this, great efforts are being directed in the development of agricultural science and technology for breeding high-yielding seed that uses no vinyl sheet and needs less fertilizer, seed suited to the double-cropping, and high-yielding seed short in its duration of growth.

    Modern breeding bases have been built and many successes been made in these days thanks to the introduction of advanced methods in breeding.

    On the other hand, researches are being conducted on a wide scale to introduce seeds of good species from other countries to adapt them to the climate and soil conditions of Korea.

    Potato farming is being done on a wide scale in Korea.

    Since long ago, Korea has extended the area for cultivating potato to dibble potatoes not only in the northern highlands but also in the flat areas and, in this course, laid the foundations for increasing the potato production.

    At present, Korea has actively introduced the advanced science and technology to decisively increase the potato production.

    Thanks to the successful potato breeding, researches for the virus-free and high-yielding seed and seed selection have been further improved. And Korea set Taehongdan County in Ryanggang Province as the model of potato farming and provides it preferentially with the different technical equipment and materials to encourage it to take the lead in potato farming of the country, and ensures that the whole country follow the example set in the County.

    Korea also actively introduces the advanced double-cropping to increase the production of food grains.

    Numerous farms switch from the wheat-and-barley-centred double-cropping to the potato-centred double-cropping.

    Potato, the high-yielding crop, is the preceding crop in double-cropping which is effective in solving the tense food problem. Potato is befitting as the preceding crop as it is higher in per-hectare production than wheat and barley, strong in resistance to cold and requires less fertilizer. Leaves and stems of potato which remain much more than wheat and barley straws are effective in increasing the fertility as they are fast in green manure effect and high in the content of nitrogen. For this reason, the grain-to-grain double-cropping switches from the wheat-and-barley-centred to the potato-centred double-cropping.

    Scientific cultivation technologies and methods for double-cropping are being widely introduced.

    Wide introduction of double cultivation in double-cropping in non-paddy field is a representative success made in the efforts for developing further the cultivation technology and methods of double-cropping. Double cultivation enables one to sufficiently ensure an accumulated temperature for the growing of crops in the regions short of calefaction resource for full double-cropping and produce full yield of later crops by planting high-yielding medium and medium late varieties.

    In particular, double cultivation of planting different crops in two rows is fruitful in double-cropping.

    Tall seedling cultivation which is the scientific and intensive paddy rice cultivation technology has been studied to be perfected thus widely being introduced in the double-cropping in paddy fields.

    Numerous farms across the country have scientifically cultivated the later tall seedlings in keeping with the systematic extension of area for double-cropping in paddy fields to attain full yield thus accumulating precious experience.

    Korea also brings about a fundamental turn in the soybean farming.

    Distinctive in the efforts for solving food problem in Korea is, next, that the material and technical foundation for increasing the agricultural production is being further consolidated.

    First of all, great efforts are being directed in land realignment.

    Land realignment is an important requirement for newly securing the arable land insufficient in Korea and raising the level of mechanization.

    In Korea, large-scaled land realignments have conducted since October 1998 to successfully realign the land in Kangwon Province, North Phyongan Province, South Hwanghae Province, Pyongyang City and South Phyongan Province. The large-scaled land realignments in Korea were a great change that opened up bright prospect of further consolidation of the material and technical foundation of the agricultural production and increasing the agricultural production decisively.

    Next, gravity-fed waterway projects are being executed on a large scale to complete the irrigation system on a high level.

    In recent days in Korea, the irrigation system based on the gravity-fed waterway that is different from the past irrigation system based on water pump is being utilized to ensure sufficient water needed for farming.

    Irrigation system based on the gravity-fed waterway is the system that utilizes the difference of topographical high and low areas between the fountainheads and consuming areas to supply water to the consuming areas by relying on gravity.

    Several waterway projects including Kaechon-Lake Thaesong waterway project, Paekma-Cholsan waterway project and Miru Plain waterway project have been successfully completed in Korea.

    The gravity-fed waterways constructed in Korea display their great vitality in the agricultural production and the economic development.

    Next, material and technical foundation for producing and supplying sufficient farming materials and mechanical equipment needed for the agricultural production is being further consolidated in Korea.

    Reconstruction and modernization of different factories including Kumsong Tractor Factory that produces mechanical equipment needed for the agricultural production have been successfully attained to produce farm machines including modern tractors.

    Besides, fertilizer production processes based on the gasification of coal have been equipped on a modern basis in Namhung Youth Chemical Complex and Hungnam Fertilizer Complex to open up a bright prospect of the normalization of fertilizer production.

    All the efforts of the Korean people for solving food problem open up vistas for satisfying the demands for food by their own efforts.