The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) has released its “Needs and Priorities 2019” report for its work in DPRK.
The situation analysis from the report:
- 10.9 million people (43% of the population) are food insecure
- 1 in 3 children (6-23 months) do not receive the mimimum acceptable diet
- 1 in 5 children suffer from stunting (chronic malnutrition)
The “needs and priorities” for the period January-December 2019 are:
- to assist 513,000 people
- the FAO requires USD 10 million
The wider context is the chronic food insecurity and malnutrition which is extensive in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The report notes the strong link between food insecurity and malnutrition which means any negative impact on agriculture and food production “has widespread and long-lasting impacts and compounds the already widespread undernutrition that exists throughout the country.”
It goes on to remind us that in “resource‑poor settings, food scarcity leads to poor dietary quality for many people, with limited consumption of food that is rich in protein, fat and micronutrients. This means most people do not consume an adequately diverse diet, which reinforces cycles of undernutrition, particularly among women and children.”
The report warns that the food security situation in the country is expected to get worse, particularly among the most vulnerable. It notes that natural disasters contribute to “annual reductions in end of year harvests, which could further increase food insecurity.
The country is critically dependent on agriculure for its food security and local production in the DPRK has been “severely affected over the past six years by natural disasters, floods and droughts, which erode farmers’ coping capacities.” See here and here for earlier stories we have posted on some of these natural disasters.
The report acknowledges that one of the major challenges facing the country is “enabling the agriculture sector to cope with the impacts of climate change by building capacities in climate change adaptation, early warning systems, disaster preparedness, response and recovery, as well as building back better (construction planning and standards).”
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