The rural highlands are remarkably colorful in agriculturally rich Guatemala, providing a stunning view from afar. The visible beauty of pastoral Guatemala is undeniable, but a closer look into the Mayan communities that reside in the mountainous countryside reveals the equally undeniable issue of poverty, and the visible malnourishment of its inhabitants.
Despite the abundance of surrounding vegetation, up to 80 percent of children residing in the countryside are extremely undernourished and around half of all children in Guatemala fall into this category. Many of the families effected are farmers, but find it more beneficial to sell their harvest than eat it themselves. In this agricultural paradox, the vegetables grown in rural Guatemala hardly reach the plates of the natives. Instead, they are exported to the United States, Europe and other parts of Central America for a higher sale price that still manages to provide meager wages for the produce growers. For instance, the farmers in the farming village of Pammus live on only $3.42 per day.
Lack of funds makes it difficult for villagers to provide their family with nutrient-rich foods. “The fundamental diet here is basically corn and coffee. Maybe once, twice or three times a week beans,” said Arnulfo Alvarez, a local doctor in Pammus. “There is a shortage of proteins and vitamins and a shortage of some minerals that are fundamental in the development of a child’s growth, especially in the first five years of its life.”
Many children in Guatemala will benefit from adopting a rich, diverse diet, but will not be able to undo the lifelong effects of malnourishment from an early age. New developments focus on children 1,000 days old or younger, which is a make-or-break period in childhood development. The repercussions of malnourishment in Guatemalan children have been shown to include lower IQ scores, and increased likelihood for heart disease, diabetes, kidney damage and anemia into adulthood.
The most notable symptom of prolonged malnourishment in rural Guatemala is the significantly shorter average height of the Mayans. What has been chalked up to genetics until recently is now understood, at least partially, as the result of insufficient nutrients consumed during early stages of childhood development. Stunting is a clear indicator of malnutrition in Guatemala, indicated by the fact that Mayans over the border in Mexico are taller than their southern cousins.
The problem is also saturated by a lack of education; two years ago, most rural parents did not even understand the concept of malnutrition. New educational programs enlist mothers of small children in classes that teach about food health and track the health of infant children.
Guatemala ranks the highest gross domestic product in all of Central America, but lands in sixth place among chronic malnourishment rates worldwide. While Guatemala is rich enough to tackle the issue on its own, less fortunate Latin American countries such as Bolivia, Peru and Brazil have successfully reduced child malnutrition rates with fewer resources. The government and aid donors are currently sending supplies to around 300,000 people in Guatemala but an additional 400,000 people require assistance as well.
The government has taken creative steps to humanize the issue and gain a better understanding of the lifestyles of those most in need. Efforts include community outreach and visits to rural villages. One instance even involved numerous government officials spending the night in a rural hut, an event that is still discussed today, two years later.
The Guatemalan government has adopted a zero-hunger policy but has been long criticized for its failure to provide for all of its citizens. The response has been slow, but the issue is complicated by factors stemming back to the country’s mid-century civil unrest. Democracy came to the nation over time as well as a booming economy. However, improved social conditions remained mostly limited to expanding urban scenes while citizens on the country’s fringe were left behind.
There is extreme inequality in Guatemala and the government fails to collect enough taxes from wealthy citizens to provide for the poor. Reformed policies are coming into effect, but they are slow. The government only plans to reduce malnourishment by 10 percent by the end of 2015.
– Edward Heinrich
Sources: DW, The Economist, PBS
Photo: PBS
Malnutrition in Agriculturally Rich Guatemala
The rural highlands are remarkably colorful in agriculturally rich Guatemala, providing a stunning view from afar. The visible beauty of pastoral Guatemala is undeniable, but a closer look into the Mayan communities that reside in the mountainous countryside reveals the equally undeniable issue of poverty, and the visible malnourishment of its inhabitants.
Despite the abundance of surrounding vegetation, up to 80 percent of children residing in the countryside are extremely undernourished and around half of all children in Guatemala fall into this category. Many of the families effected are farmers, but find it more beneficial to sell their harvest than eat it themselves. In this agricultural paradox, the vegetables grown in rural Guatemala hardly reach the plates of the natives. Instead, they are exported to the United States, Europe and other parts of Central America for a higher sale price that still manages to provide meager wages for the produce growers. For instance, the farmers in the farming village of Pammus live on only $3.42 per day.
Lack of funds makes it difficult for villagers to provide their family with nutrient-rich foods. “The fundamental diet here is basically corn and coffee. Maybe once, twice or three times a week beans,” said Arnulfo Alvarez, a local doctor in Pammus. “There is a shortage of proteins and vitamins and a shortage of some minerals that are fundamental in the development of a child’s growth, especially in the first five years of its life.”
Many children in Guatemala will benefit from adopting a rich, diverse diet, but will not be able to undo the lifelong effects of malnourishment from an early age. New developments focus on children 1,000 days old or younger, which is a make-or-break period in childhood development. The repercussions of malnourishment in Guatemalan children have been shown to include lower IQ scores, and increased likelihood for heart disease, diabetes, kidney damage and anemia into adulthood.
The most notable symptom of prolonged malnourishment in rural Guatemala is the significantly shorter average height of the Mayans. What has been chalked up to genetics until recently is now understood, at least partially, as the result of insufficient nutrients consumed during early stages of childhood development. Stunting is a clear indicator of malnutrition in Guatemala, indicated by the fact that Mayans over the border in Mexico are taller than their southern cousins.
The problem is also saturated by a lack of education; two years ago, most rural parents did not even understand the concept of malnutrition. New educational programs enlist mothers of small children in classes that teach about food health and track the health of infant children.
Guatemala ranks the highest gross domestic product in all of Central America, but lands in sixth place among chronic malnourishment rates worldwide. While Guatemala is rich enough to tackle the issue on its own, less fortunate Latin American countries such as Bolivia, Peru and Brazil have successfully reduced child malnutrition rates with fewer resources. The government and aid donors are currently sending supplies to around 300,000 people in Guatemala but an additional 400,000 people require assistance as well.
The government has taken creative steps to humanize the issue and gain a better understanding of the lifestyles of those most in need. Efforts include community outreach and visits to rural villages. One instance even involved numerous government officials spending the night in a rural hut, an event that is still discussed today, two years later.
The Guatemalan government has adopted a zero-hunger policy but has been long criticized for its failure to provide for all of its citizens. The response has been slow, but the issue is complicated by factors stemming back to the country’s mid-century civil unrest. Democracy came to the nation over time as well as a booming economy. However, improved social conditions remained mostly limited to expanding urban scenes while citizens on the country’s fringe were left behind.
There is extreme inequality in Guatemala and the government fails to collect enough taxes from wealthy citizens to provide for the poor. Reformed policies are coming into effect, but they are slow. The government only plans to reduce malnourishment by 10 percent by the end of 2015.
– Edward Heinrich
Sources: DW, The Economist, PBS
Photo: PBS
Seven Questions to Ask About Foreign Aid
1. Why does the U.S. give foreign aid?
The U.S. gives aid for several reasons: economic interests, national security and American values. Economically, aid builds trading partners and supports the demand for U.S. goods. For national security, U.S. aid can sustain efforts to reduce injustice and poverty, which can contribute to instability and social tensions. Providing aid can also validate the kindness of the American people, advance democracy and human rights and build a better world.
2. What types of U.S. assistance does it include?
Foreign aid is a very comprehensive term. It incorporates several types of assistance, from the international affairs budget to poverty-focused assistance. The international affairs budget includes the resources to finance U.S. endeavors abroad. For example, it provides funds for USAID and the Department of State’s diplomatic costs and expenses that are sustained in protecting the interests of U.S. citizens and businesses abroad. In addition to helping people in poor countries, this aid provides money to allies for strategic purposes. Poverty-focused assistance concentrates on promoting economic growth and providing services like education and health care.
3. How much does the U.S. government spend on poverty-reducing foreign aid?
The U.S. government spends around $80 per taxpayer on foreign aid. To put that into perspective, compare that number to what Americans spend on other items: $204 per person on soft drinks, the $126 per person on lawn care and $101 per person on candy.
4. What is Americans’ understanding of how much the U.S. spends on this aid?
Americans think the U.S. spends more money on foreign aid than Medicare and Social Security – as much as 30 percent. However, only 0.7 percent of the U.S. federal budget is spent on poverty-focused foreign aid.
5. How can we ensure development aid is not wasted by corrupt governments?
Most poverty-reducing foreign aid is not actually provided directly to foreign governments. Around 85 percent goes through NGOs and U.S.-based government contractors. It may actually force governments to increase transparency and accountability.
6. What is the U.S. doing to make this kind of aid more effective?
The U.S. is doing many things to make foreign aid more efficient, such as defining aid’s purpose, modernizing USAID, developing new models of providing aid and making it more transparent. In 2010, President Obama put forth the first U.S. Global Development Policy which clarifies that the main purpose of U.S. development aid is to pursue global economic growth to fight global poverty. For modernizing USAID, USAID Forward is a new reform agenda that is working to make USAID more efficient, transparent and accountable. President Bush introduced the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) during his presidency. MCC is a “United States foreign aid agency that is applying a new philosophy towards foreign aid.” The MCC model demands that countries to meet criteria in three areas: investments in people, economic freedom and good governance.
7. How can the U.S. improve it to better fight poverty?
There are a few ways. The United States could focus aid more on combating poverty worldwide, provide more transparent information about their foreign aid and give more aid to effective local leaders.
– Colleen Moore
Sources: Alliance for Peace Building, Oxfam America, The Borgen Project
Photo: The Spectator
Donate to Africa
When a child does not want to finish his or her food, a parent often says something along the lines of “Finish your food; there are starving children in Africa.” This statement and others like it represent the mentality most Americans grow up with. We know that much of Africa is impoverished, which leads to malnourishment in children, death from curable diseases, homelessness and much more. If we know all this, then why not help? Knowing that people across the world are suffering means that we should donate to Africa.
While Americans have access to a variety of medications and are able to see a doctor, many Africans are living with HIV/AIDS or curable diseases. But those diseases are not considered “curable” in Africa because they do not have half of the access that Americans have to medical help.
While Americans are getting an education for free and many progress to college, many children in Africa do not have the privilege of going to school.
Many people living in the U.S. think they are incapable of making a difference in someone’s life who is living across the world. But the reality is quite the opposite: there are plenty of organizations that allow people to get involved and donate to those living in poverty in Africa.
The word “donate” according to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary means, “to give in order to help a person or organization.” When people hear the word “donate,” they often think of giving away their money. Yes, sometimes it may mean donating money, but it also means giving away clothes, books, food and more.
Here is a list of organizations that you could go through to donate to people in Africa:
1. Donate Africa – This organization has two options on their website: Donate money (even $10 can make a difference) or donate goods. In the “donate goods” area you simply write what you are donating and a quick description.
2. Save the Children is another great and well-known organization that keeps people informed about what is going with people living in poverty. They make it easy to make a donation and even have PayPal as a choice of payment, which is sometimes a little more comforting for those donating.
3. Books for Africa – There are children in Africa who are starving for books, who are waiting to see the different pages to take them to another world just for a little bit. This organization allows you to donate money and makes sure that it goes to giving children books. Just $50 gives children 100 books.
4. SHARE Africa allows people not only to donate money, but to send nonperishable items that are appropriate for ages 5 to 18. The items are then distributed to children by staff workers in Kenya.
5. Heal Africa is an organization that is specifically geared toward helping Africa with its medical needs. Donations go to training doctors and medical health caretakers and also toward medication and facilities.
These are only a few organizations that you could get involved in to help those living in Africa. Just because they are far away does not mean they are out of our reach to make a difference.
– Priscilla Rodarte
Sources: SHARE Africa, Books for Africa, Merriam Webster, Save the Children, Donate to Africa
Photo: SHARE Africa
Algeria to Donate FIFA Money to Gaza
Although not yet confirmed, there have been reports that the Algerian national football team will donate their World Cup prize money to the Gaza Strip.
Islam Slimani, renowned striker for the Algerian team, supposedly announced after their loss in the round of 16 that they will give their estimated $9 million prize money to Gaza.
If the reports are true, the team may be accused of bringing politics into sports. Last month, FIFA announced Argentina would face disciplinary action after the team presented a political banner prior to a match against Slovenia bearing the phrase “The Falkland Islands belong to Argentina.”
Since 2007, poverty and unemployment have increased greatly in Gaza, a territory self-ruled by the terrorist organization Hamas. About 1.2 million people out of the 1.8 million that live in the Gaza Strip live in refugee camps.
Poverty has been the only way of life for 50-year-old Palestinian Mahmoud al-Ashqar, who lives in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza. Al-Ashqar primarily depends on the education, health care and food rations provided by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. He has asked UNRWA many times to save his house, but his calls have been met with no success.
“The walls may collapse anytime, they would seriously fall down over our heads if I do not make some repair from time to time,” al-Ashqar said. “I have asked many organizations, including UNRWA, which is the care taker of refugees, to help us restore the house, but they all gave us a cold shoulder.”
Algeria’s alleged donation to the impoverished people of Gaza would help people like Mahmoud al-Ashqar. “They need it more than us,” Slimani said.
The Israel-Palestine issue is complicated, due to a long history of territory disputes and religious conflict. Violence has once again erupted from both sides and international organizations are actively working to quell tensions.
– Colleen Moore
Sources: The Independent, Daily Mail, The National, PressTV, Global Post
Photo: Fox Sports
Photo: International Business Times
Why the U.S. Should Ratify CEDAW
Despite having been proposed during the Carter administration, the Global Women’s Treaty (CEDAW) was never approved by the Senate. Under the current Obama administration, attention has been brought back to the United Nations treaty for ratification. Many human rights organizations have criticized the United States’ inaction with this treaty for decades.
The treaty hopes to attain full gender equality, specifically in areas of domestic violence, maternal health, economic opportunities and human trafficking. Although the U.S. prides itself on being at the forefront of human rights activism and campaigns, not ratifying the treaty seems contradictory. Only seven nations, including the U.S., have not ratified the treaty.
The Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee has supported the treaty twice, but there has not been substantial support in the Senate as a whole. CEDAW acts as a guideline for countries to follow in order to eliminate gender inequality. In past years, many advancements in women’s rights have been attributed to the CEDAW framework.
With barriers to economic and social equality, countries are functioning at a fraction of their potential. CEDAW helps to alleviate these barriers, tailoring guidelines for each country based on its current landscape. For these reasons, the U.S.’ ratification would not only help solidify domestic efforts to foster gender equality, but also promote gender equality in other nations.
With nations including China, Russia, the UK and many of our NATO allied nations participating, the U.S. is one of the few to not cooperate on this issue. With U.S.’ leadership and resources, the international alliance toward improving global living conditions for women can prosper. With the approval of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, hopefully CEDAW will pass through the Senate this year.
– Kristin Ronzi
Sources: Human Rights Watch, CEDAW 2014
Photo: Ratify CEDAW Facebook
5 Ways Mobile Tech is Fighting Poverty
As mobile technology continues to rise and expand across our nation, it has also begun to play an important role in poorer, less fortunate countries as well. Mobile tech is becoming a crucial part in alleviating poverty, helping both the individual and the community of these areas in need. Here are five ways that mobile tech is improving lives.
Education
While mobile tech has been increasingly implemented into curriculums in the United States to increase efficiency, so it has been in poorer countries as well. One educational, nonprofit company named Eneza Education has been participating in this effort. The mobile platform has over 100,000 students in 400 schools all over Kenya, and aims to increase enrollment to over 200,000.
Banking
According to The World Bank, some 2.5 billion people — half of the adult population — do not have a bank account. As a result, it is harder for individuals to accumulate wealth or save for the future. However, mobile banking is allowing more and more people around the world to have access to an electronic money saving system. Individuals are now able to take out insurance policies, set up loans and transfer money to one another. By allowing poverty-stricken individuals to save, overseas markets are being strengthened.
Tracking
Tracking, by means of mobile technology, is something of a double-edged sword, but many analysts agree that the pros outweigh the cons. One major drawback is that mobile tech is a powerful tool in organizing human trafficking. Traffickers have the ability to streamline, organize and, yes, even advertise their exploits through this technology. Despite this unfortunate use of tracking, officials are becoming increasingly able to crack these codes to bust traffickers. In fact, The Polaris Project has been able to harness data analysis to ensure the safety of people who have been kidnapped.
Health care
Without access to health care, it is nearly impossible to alleviate poverty in some regions of the world. Mobile tech is helping improve the quality of health care at a rapid pace. “Malaria No More” is an example of one NGO using mobile tech to improve health care conditions. One of “Malaria No More’s” campaigns has soccer star Didier Drogba dispatch a text message to millions of Kenyans that asks, “Are you and your family sleeping under your nets tonight?” Safety sleeping nets are an incredible way to reduce the contraction of malaria. The NGO reports that this campaign has increased the number of individuals sleeping under tents by 12 percent.
Agriculture
Mobile tech is at it’s best when it is transferring small amounts of data quickly between individuals and groups. This is proving invaluable to farmers. Take the Kenyan mobile platform SokoniSMS64 for example. The program uses SMS text messages to unload details about the wholesale price of crops to farmers. In turn, farmers communicate among one another and with traders to negotiate fair pricing. There are also services such as “iCow from M-Farm” that assists farmers who have livestock. The app can set schedules, helps organize feeding routines and even has a built in weather app, so that farmers can adequately prepare for upcoming days
– Andrew Rywak
Sources: huffingtonpost.com, businesssolutiontopoverty.com, womendeliver.org
Photo: Scribe
Fighting Terror with Education Investments
The Global Partnership on Education (GPE) held a “replenishment summit” on June 25, where it asked donor countries to provide funding for another four years. By disbursing billions of dollars in donations from 20 countries toward educational programs in 50 developing nations, GPE has become one of the most influential global education organizations.
As the chairwoman of GPE, former Australian Prime Minister Julia Guillard has been advancing the message that “it is enlightened self-interest to invest in education.” Her argument ahead of the summit has been that whoever is interested in promoting economic growth and reducing extremism should start by building classrooms and training teachers.
“Ms. Guillard says the abductions of schoolgirls in Nigeria by Boko Haram militants should act as an alarm bell for the threat of extremism and also a catalyst for protecting education.” It is “the subject of such dedicated assault by terrorists and extremists shows the potency and importance of education in such communities,” she says.
However, skepticism is still in the air as to how much impact educational programs are having on reducing extremism and terrorist threats. Moreover, the question remains as to why industrialized nations should dedicate part of their budgets toward educating children in developing nations.
Guillard argues that organizations like GPE can really make a long-term difference and that it cannot be expected that change will happen overnight. Additionally, she asserts that it cannot be expected that donor countries and organizations like GPE bear all the weight of educating children in developing countries. It is imperative for recipient nations to step up their game, she says. This is not only about just allocating funding for the public schooling system. Guilliard states that each country should be an active participant in the development and implementation of the various educational programs.
In this realm, it can be said that the summit was a success. The $22.85 billion raised from donor nations also comes with a commitment by recipient nations to increase their own investment in public education.
While there have been many missed promises when it comes to global public education, one of them being the 2015 Millennium Development Goals, the latest GPE summit promised and delivered a new round of funding for public educations. Now it is about the implementation of adequate measures and programs.
– Sahar Abi Hassan
Sources: BBC News 1, BBC News 2 Photo: VIP Properties
A New Poverty Estimation for India
Former Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (PMEAC) Chairman C. Rangarajan is defending himself against criticisms on his estimation of poverty, which states that currently three out of ten Indian families are living in poverty. The Council’s estimation methods are considered somewhat conservative, involving in-depth normative analysis regarding food consumption and needs, as well as behavioral standards among city dwellers and rural families.
The panel accrued the research of the Indian Council for Medical Research to compute a person’s average need of calories, proteins and fats. According to Rangarajan’s formula, the states with the highest poverty rates are Assam, Jharkhand, Manipur and Odisha.
Under the Council’s poverty standards, a rural family of five spending less than $80 a month or an urban family of five spending less than about $115 a month should be considered poor. So, according to Rangarajan, 363 million Indians, nearly 30 percent of the population, are considered poor according to the latest census from 2011-2012. The Council also stressed how varied the prices of goods are across India. For instance, the report showed that, “the most expensive regions for the poor are about twice as costly as the cheapest.”
Their research unveiled that, in regions such as Gujarat — the state that the current Prime Minister once governed, figures show urban poverty rates slightly below the national average, but rural poverty rates drastically lower. This demonstrates the increasing gap between the rich and poor. The report showed a disdain for welfare programs in the region and noted, “Its poor are so poor that they are unable to exploit the economic opportunities as efficiently as the more fortunate.”
Although this established definition of a poverty line in India is the strictest guideline set in history, it reveals progress. In 2010, 38.2 percent of Indian families were considered poor, demonstrating a decrease since 2011. This new assessment of poverty in India has eased political tensions regarding the estimation of poverty. Before, the Congress Party was at odds with much of the population and even with newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the definition of poverty.
Most believed the poverty line was set too low. With these new standards, India hopes to go forward with more effective poverty reduction strategies, as it now has more realistic assessments of conditions in both rural and urban communities. The government is confident that these estimations will better allow for order in public spending to subsidize millions of lives, ensuring that the poorest — or those most in need — receive what is necessary to survive.
– Cambria Arvizo
Sources: New York Times, Business Standard, India Today
Photo: Rediff Business
Tropical Diseases are Killing Millions
Neglected tropical diseases are diseases that are either bacterial or parasitic and infect around one in six people around the world. Over half of a billion children are infected with these diseases.
These diseases are considered “neglected” because they do not receive very much attention or funding from governments or medical communities around the world.
These diseases tend to be especially widespread in areas with high levels of poverty, bad sanitation and poor access to health care. These diseases tend to especially affect women and children.
While they are grouped together, neglected tropical diseases can be very different from one another. Some kill quickly while others will infect for years or simply harm, but not kill, their victims. Some are parasitic, caused by parasites, and spread through mosquitoes, snails or flies. Others are bacterial and are spread through water or soil.
Treatments for these diseases also vary. Some have cheap treatments available (although this could potentially lead to drug resistance), others have no treatment or a very expensive or difficult treatment.
According to the World Health Organization there are 17 neglected tropical diseases. Here is a brief description of the seven most common neglected tropical diseases. These seven diseases account for 90 percent of global cases of neglected tropical diseases.
1. Ascariasis (roundworm) is the infection of the small intestine that is caused by a roundworm. The eggs of the roundworm are often ingested and the eggs then hatch in the person’s intestine. They then reach the lungs through the bloodstream. The worms can grow to be longer than 30 centimeters. Roundworm causes about 60,000 deaths each year.
2. Trichuriasis (whipworm) is spread and moves through the body like roundworm. Around the world about 700 million people are infected with whipworm.
3. Schistosomiasis (snail fever) is caused by parasitic worms. A person can become infected by coming in direct contact with contaminated fresh water. Over 200 million are infected with snail fever around the world.
4. Lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) is transmitted through mosquitoes and damages the lymphatic system causing painful, visible disfigurations. More than 120 million are infected around the world.
5. Trachoma is an infection of bacteria in the eye, causing the yield to turn inwards, eventually resulting in blindness. Six million people are blind due to trachoma.
6. Onchocerciasis (river blindness) is a parasitic disease caused by flies that carry larval worms that grow to cause blindness, lesions and loss of pigmentation in the skin.
7. Hookworm is spread and moves through the body like whipworm and roundworm. Around 600 million people throughout the world are infected with hookworm.
Although neglected tropical diseases affect millions, they are relatively inexpensive to treat: for around 50 cents a year, one person could be treated and protected for all of the seven most common neglected diseases.
– Lily Tyson
Sources: Reuters, Global Network, CDC, WHO
Photo: EndTheNeglect
North Korean Farmers Struggling
The pressure is on for North Korea to surpass previous years of famine and intolerably high death tolls, possibly nearing hundreds of thousands lives lost. The threat of famine imminent throughout the nation, Kim Jong Un proclaimed a prosperous farming season, claiming North Koreans will, “never have to tighten its belt again,” with the hopes of inspiring farmers to excel.
The question still lies in every mind, how can an isolated, autocratic state find success when they refuse aid from every inquiry that comes their way? Compared to last year, North Korea is expected to produce three million tons less grains, paving the way for a lower crop season overall.
North Korea, no matter how hidden and secretive they attempt to be, still releases information to the world, even though it may be altered. Kim believes that his country can provide for itself and be a successful self-sustainable farming example. In reality, farmers struggle to get past the memories of the death and hunger that rampaged through the country in the 1990s.
In that time, farming was made up of innovative farming technology that quickly lead to the fuel and equipment shortages that created long-term damage. The policies put in place at the time did not account for over usage, allowing farmers to abuse the system and ultimately plow themselves into the ground, hungry and poor.
There are some instances in North Korea that point to signs of smart farming and success, given the example of Rim Ok Hua, whose farm received special recognition from the late leader, Kim Jong Il. This acknowledgement has gifted Rim’s farm with access to the top tier materials to maintain a vast and growing farm. Rim is one of few farmers that do not worry about their own lives when the farming season comes, compared to poorer provinces where farmers dread the harvests.
Forced to do so by hand and alone in the fields or behind starving livestock such as oxen, smaller farmers struggle to not only maintain themselves, but to serve the country as well. One of the common issues a modern farmer faces is that the, “soil fertility in many areas was trashed by decades of overuse of chemical fertilizers, up to the late 1980s,” causing current crops to suffer.
Among these physical issues lie the issues that cannot be seen, only felt by the people. North Korea’s strict regime includes, “state-controlled distribution, top-down planning and a quota system that doesn’t fully encourage innovation and individual effort. All these factors make North Korea’s agricultural sector a very fragile ecosystem,” forcing farmers to quietly suffer economically as well. With so many devices to control the farms, workers see little revenue and whatever they make immediately goes back to the state. This ultimately creates a cycle of poverty within the workforce, with the farm having barely enough to get by for the rest of the year.
Not all hope is lost though. Since the 90’s disaster that left so many suffering, there have been noticeable improvements that will hopefully allow for a more stable farming future. The total crop production is expected to rise five percent from 2013 to 2014, equating to about six million tons according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Programme.
North Korean farmers enter this farming season with a small sense of hope that the crops will yield the product necessary to survive, otherwise they may all be looking at a dim revisiting to the famine that threatened them years ago.
– Elena Lopez
Sources: Big Story, The Diplomat, Global Meat News
Photo: Telegraph