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AFSC - North Korea

DPRK Agricultural Assistance Program

The American Friends Service Committee has provided agricultural assistance to the DPRK since 1997.  Over this decade, AFSC’s agricultural assistance program in the DPRK has followed two complementary strategies: (1) supporting immediate production gains at selected farms, and (2) helping farms to increase production with their own resources.  AFSC’s budget for these activities has been approximately $350,000 per year for the last five years.  The program provides assistance to four large cooperative farms, three in the Western coastal “rice basket” and one in the eroded foothills 120 km northeast of Pyongyang.

Research laboratory at Agriculture Canada

In addition, AFSC supports testing and evaluation of sustainable farming methods at three agricultural research institutes, including the national Academy of Agricultural Sciences.  Increases in food production at the four farms supported by AFSC contribute substantially to better nutrition for urban North Koreans, as well as for the farm families.

Experimental rice fields at OADA

AFSC focuses its assistance on selected obstacles which restrict food production.  These obstacles include poor soil fertility and fertility management, inadequate rainfall for early season crop development, and excessive post-harvest losses because of slow grain processing.  During the past two years, AFSC has joined with the North Korean Academy of Agricultural Science (AAS), the Organic Agriculture Development Association (OADA), and the Research Center for Compound Microorganisms (CM Center) in a coordinated program to develop high-yielding sustainable farming methods which are suited to DPRK conditions.  These methods especially include introduction of cover crops which provide nitrogen and organic matter to the depleted soils, and simple farm equipment which facilitates growing these cover crops.  Under appropriate conditions, green manure cover crops can add enough nitrogen to raise rice and corn yields by 30% over the current average.

Corn from fields rotated with soybean

With suggestions and support from AFSC, farms have begun to implement several crop rotation systems that include soybeans, and the results are quite positive both for food production and farmer income.



In previous years, AFSC provided small irrigation and sprinkler systems.  These pumps provide small but critical amounts of water to corn, wheat or soybean during frequent early spring droughts, avoiding loss of a crop and stabilizing yields.  AFSC has also donated small portable rice threshing machines which help prevent grain losses in the fields to birds and rats, and allow work teams to directly process the harvest in their allocated fields, rather than having to carry it to a central threshing machine.  Both the pumps and threshers pay for their initial purchase cost in just one year of operation, because of the reduction in crop losses.

Vetch test in harvested rice paddy.

Most importantly, AFSC has so far hosted fourteen delegations abroad for technical study in agriculture, and brought agricultural scientists from the US to North Korea.  Past delegations have come to the US, Canada, China and Vietnam.  The North Korean farming specialists who have participated in these delegations have learned about many topics including rice and corn breeding, pork and poultry production, and sustainable farming methods.  Their exposure to ordinary citizens in the US and other countries visited allows them to take home new ideas.  AFSC’s continuing work in the DPRK builds new understanding between the North Korean and American people and helps to break down stereotyped images on both sides.

The East Asia Quaker International Affairs Representative Program has more information about AFSC's work in Korea.

Trips and Reports

Delegation Report October 2006 >
April 2002 Trip to North Korea >

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