North Korea

Improvement and diversification of meals served to children in social institutions

View across the breeding pools in Yongwwang farm Photo Louis Merlin/Triangle G H	The pools in Sinhung farm Photo Louis Merlin/Triangle G H
Photos : APDRA-F 2010 / Triangle G H

Since the mid 1980s, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is facing a highly complicated crisis. The impact on its entire economy has deeply deteriorated its inhabitants’ conditions of living, particularly regarding access to goods and services.

An inevitable component of this crisis is the lack of protein in the diet of the country’s inhabitants. In fact, the nutritional needs of children aged between 0 and 6 (11% de la population) cannot be covered. In North Korea, children in this age group are generally under the care of social institutions. Consequently, to improve and sustainably diversify their diet, one must work with the food-processing production units operating with such institutions.

The main objective of this program is therefore to sustainably improve the food safety of the vulnerable populations in these social institutions. More specifically, we plan to develop the pisciculture industry in order to improve the diet of 19,575 vulnerable people in 261 institutions. On one hand, by increasing the production of fish (based on an integrated system: pisciculture-agriculture-stock breeding) and on the other, by improving the distribution and preservation capacities (respect for sanitary norms), together with the North Koreans’ capacity to manage and sustainably develop its fish farming industry.

This program takes place in two fish farms in Yonggwang and Sinhung, South Hamgyong province. It involves Korean and French experts and aims to improve the aquaculture industry. The program’s duration (34 months) enables us to provide technical support over three consecutive seasons.

Initially, the aim is to implement, in two farms, an integrated fish production system thanks to the complementary activities of farming and breeding. Agricultural activities provide the organic system required to feed fish and livestock. The mud generated by the breeding pools along with the manure produced by the animals can be used to fertilize the cultures. The same manure can also be used, after transformation, to feed the fish.

By balancing aquaculture, agriculture and breeding, it is possible to optimize fish production and solve the problem of feeding the fry which is the main difficulty encountered in fish farms.  

In the first year, we aim to check the suitability of an integrated system and its appropriateness with the particularities of North Korean fish farms.

During the second phase, we aim to increase fish conservation (storage) and distribution (transport) capacities, in compliance with sanitary standards. Indeed, currently the post-production stages feature important failures that limit the availability of fish products in the targeted institutions.  The main actors  – fish farms, popular committees and institutions for children – do not possess adequate logistical means. Consequently, we observe a major loss between production and distribution to institutions, accompanied by huge health hazards.

In its final stage, this program will seek to improve the capacities of the North Korean actors regarding management and sustainable development of the fishing industry. Indeed, within the particular context of North Korea, one of the major stakes is linked to the continuance of the improvements generated by the program (in particular, the difficulty of procuring farm input such as seed and spare parts for the technical installations).

Training, economic and technical feasibility surveys, and pilot income generating activities compose the three main areas of this final objective. Opportunities that exist at economic level will be studied to draw up solutions linked to the main farm inputs required for production.

APDRA (Association Pisciculture et Développement Rural en Afrique) provides technical support to this program in the form of expertise missions and general follow-up.