Main Funding (90%): EuropeAid Co-Operation Office
Co-funding: SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency)   
Global budget: €2,111 thousand
Duration: 31 months (December 2006 to august 2009)

Only 16% of the entire DPRK territory possesses arable lands. Consequently, in 1970, aiming to reclaim agricultural lands from the sea, the government initiated an extensive bolder construction programme. This particularly focused on the west coast for geographical and pedological reasons.

Between 1995 and 2000, the polders, already weakened by bad maintenance owing to lack of funds and technical means, were greatly damaged by the succession of storms and floods. A vast expanse of cultivated land was ravaged in South Pyongan province considered the “granary” of DPRK by the FAO. In parallel, the country had to face growing economic difficulties.
It was in this framework that Triangle GH started working in DPRK, following the government’s international appeal for aid.

The current programme contributes to the development of the food production potential in South Pyongan by rehabilitating the Kumsong polder and strengthening the Polder Company’s capacities.

Created in 1994, Kumsong polder has 3,207 hectares of crops. With 3 dikes, that are 7 meters high, 9 metres wide and 15 kilometres long, it is the largest and most recent polder in the DPRK.

The project targets the inhabitants of the Jung Ak and Kumsong Coop Farms along with the Polders Company and the Engineering Department.

6,970 people will directly benefit from the project: 3,620 residents from the Junk Ak Coop Farm, 1,650 residents from the Kumsong Coop Farm, 1500 employees from the Polders Company, and 200 employees from the Engineering Department. The project will also have an indirect benefit on all residents of Onchon, e.g. some 143,880 people.

Achievements include:

1. Rehabilitation of Kumsong polder,
2. Increase of the polder’s agricultural potential (by drying out the flooded land),
3. Development of the operational capacities of our partners (the Polders Construction Company and the Sariwon Engineering Department) thanks to the supply of spare parts, materials and equipment, training…

By working with the same partners throughout the project, a consolidation of their technical and managerial skills is more effective.

In a broader context, the current project and cooperation with local partners help to strengthen North Korean civil engineering capacities. It also triggers a general reflection about the impact of rehabilitating polders in terms of food safety.