Farmers on the Yaksu Cooperative farm in Kang So County, Nampo City are lucky. The Taedong River runs right through the 730 hectare farm, ensuring a continuous supply of water for irrigation. But Mr. Nhi Ki Nam, the chairman of the cooperative arm explains that the farmers have their own troubles. Natural disasters are one: the recurring drought threatens to cut expected food production to half on this farm and across the country this year.
Mr. Nam says last year (2014) the drought affected the farm’s capacity and production. This experience has pushed the farm to prepare in anticipation of the drought by building up its irrigation system. However running the irrigation system is also costly because the price of fuel for the diesel powered water pumps is high. Yet the fluctuating electricity supply renders the electric powered irrigation system unreliable.
“The farm pumps water from the Taedong River and also uses the gravity flow scheme. Most of the paddy fields can be covered but other fields are not covered because the water is not enough. This is why the farm needs more water pumps to cover more ground”, Mr. Nam says.
Last year FAO introduced a new system of rice production on the farm which requires less water, the system of rice intensification under their project, Improved Rice Production and Sustainability through System of Rice Intensification (TCP/DRK/3404).
Yaksu farm received two green houses, a rice transplanter, combined harvester, improved rice seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, water pump, seeder and tractor. The farmers on this farm are among the 1,500 people who will benefit from the 300,000 USD FAO funded project.
SRI technology requires 60-80 percent less rice seeds, 20-25 percent less nitrogen fertilizer and chemicals than normal cultivation while increasing 10-15 percent of productivity. The system helps to control pests and diseases such as sheath blight, golden snail, root rots.
Mr. Nam says the farm has introduced SRI to cover 20 hectares and is gradually increasing the area under SRI until it covers at least 200 hectares. "If the SRI system is introduced to the whole country, it will increase agriculture production because even in drought, we still raise seedlings in the greenhouse using SRI technology. Yet the SRI seedlings require less water”, Mr. Nam says.
The transplanter has eased work on the farm by reducing labor and improving the planting time. While 30 people are needed to transplant rice seedlings on one hectare, with the transplanter, about five people are needed. “The farm now produces 7.2 metric tonnes of rice per hectare and 7.5 metric tonnes of maize per hectare. The farm target is to increase the rice productivity to 8 metric tonnes per hectare. The maximum production on the Yaksu cooperative farm has been 6.2 metric tonnes, but with the SRI system, the farm can reach maximum production”, Mr. Nam says.
TCP contributes to drought relief
In DPR Korea, about 80% of the land area is mountainous, leaving limited space for food crops. Yield increase is one of the ways to realize food security through sustainable production system. Rice is a staple food crop and is widely grown in DPR Korea.
Its planting area is 563,200 hectares with an average yield of 4.7 tonnes per hectare. Although rice has 38.5 percent of national total food crop planting area, it contributes 50.8 percent to the total national food production due to its relatively higher yield compared with other food crops.
Therefore rice is very important crop for national food security and increasing farmers‟ income in the country. With the limitations of technology, shortage of farming supplies and frequent disasters like drought and flooding, rice yield has declined in recent years.
In addition, DPRK’s population is expected to expand each year by an additional 204,850 people at 0.85 percent population growth, requiring an additional production of 45,067 metrict tonnes of food each year. Thefore each person will require 220 kilograms of food grains every year. To achieve self-sufficiency in food production DPR Korea has to increase production of rice and maize crops.
It is urgent to transform rice production with SRI to increase rice yield which requires less rice seeds, less water, less fertilizers, less labour and yet controlling pests and diseases.
The principles of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) were developed to increase yield and improve the rice production through improving the soil environment and tapping plants' growth ability with less reliance on inorganic nutrient inputs and varietal change. SRI yield increases and sustainability have been achieved in China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and many other countries.