◆State Plan Still Comes Before Distribution: What's Changed?
Laws show distribution priorities as follows:
1. Compulsory procurement plan
2. Contract procurement plan (farm collective contribution)
3. Farmers' distribution
This maintains the priority on state plans, no different from the past. However, a significant difference is that once plans are fulfilled, everything else belongs to farmers, regardless of amount.
This measure to boost farmers' motivation is the core of the new distribution policy. While it sounds reasonable, there's a catch. Fulfilling state quotas is never easy due to chronic material shortages, inefficiency, soil degradation, and natural disasters in North Korean agriculture.
Another notable point is the inconsistent terminology despite similar revision timing of both laws. The "collective contribution" in the Farm Law appears as "contract procurement plan" in the Grain Management Law, suggesting ongoing confusion in distribution policy.
The next article will examine how distribution policies are actually implemented in the field, based on reports from local reporting partners. ( To 5 >> )
※ ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.
＜North Korea Special＞What is the Reality of Kim Jong-un's Agricultural Policy Reform? (4) State Quotas vs. Farmers' Survival: How to Divide? Changes in Distribution
