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DPRK
United Nations Development Programme
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of DPR Korea
Project: Improved Seed Production for Sustainable Agriculture
FAO, DRK/10/004//01/99
UNDP Atlas ID: 00078564
Project Terminal Report
(April 2011 – October 2014)
Compiled by
Bir C. Mandal
Chief Technical Advisor
DRK/10/004 and 005 Projects
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
October 2014
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A. OVERVIEW
A.1. PROJECT PROFILE
Country:
Project Symbol:
Project Title:
Resource Partner:
Reporting Period:
EOD:
Actual EOD:
Original NTE:
Revised NTE:
Budget Holder (name):
Lead Technical Officer (name):
Participating Organizations:
Implementing Partner:
Korea, Democratic Peoples‟ Republic of
DRK/10/004/01/99
Improved Seed Production for Sustainable Agriculture
UNDP
Project Terminal Report
29 April 2011 (LoA between FAO and UNDP signed)
15 August 2011
28 April 2014
31 October 2014
Mr. Percy W. Misika, FAO Representative in China, DPR
Korea and Mongolia
Mr. Subash Dasgupta, Senior Crop Production Officer until
31st Dec. 2014; and Mr. Bui Ba Bong, Senior Rice Expert
during Jan. – Oct. 2014
Seed Management Department and External Cooperation
Department, Ministry of Agriculture; Pyongyang Agricultural
Campus; and Academy of Agricultural Science
Seed Management Department and External Cooperation
Department, Ministry of Agriculture, GoDPRK
Contribution to Programmatic Framework
Indicate the reference number and title of each higher level result to which project contributes
Organizational Result
The global goal # 1 of FAO: Reduction of the absolute
number of people suffering from hunger, progressively
ensuring a world in which all people at all times have
sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary
needs and food preference for an active and healthy life.
Regional Priority Area/Result The specific priority # 1 of FAO RAP: Strengthening food
and nutritional security. *
Country Programming Framework
Outcome
The priority # 1 of the CPF: Strengthening national food and
nutritional security.
UNDAF Outcome
UN-DPRK strategic priority # 2: Improved nutritional status
and enhanced resiliency of communities through food
security.
A.2. FINANCIAL DATA in USD (FPMIS)1 as at: 31:12:2013
Budget: US$ 1,729,355
Cash received: US$ 1,729,355
Total delivery: US$ 1,673,414 = 96.76 % of the total FAO budget – US$ 1,729,355.
1 Data should be identical to that available in DWH.
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CONTENTS
Subject Page Number
Acronyms 5
Acknowledgements 7
A. Overview 2
A.1. Project Profile 2
A.2. Financial Data 2
A.3. Executive Summary 8
A.3.1. Prelude 8
A.3.2. The Problem 8
A.3.3. The Response 8
A.3.4. Results Achieved 10
A.3.5. Follow-up Actions 11
B. Government Attention 11
C. Major Activities Carried Out by the Project 12
C.1. Introduction 12
C.1.1. Background 12
C.1.2. Agriculture in DPRK, a Snapshot 12
C.1.3. Planting and Harvesting Time 13
C.1.4. Major Problems of Seed Sector 14
C.2. Technical Support on “Basic Strategy of Seed Production” 14
C.3. Co-ordination/Consultation Process with Cooperative Farms and Stakeholders 15
C.4. Equipments, Machineries and Infrastructures 16
C.4.1. Equipments and Machineries 16
C.4.2. Infrastructure Development 19
C.5. Seed Quality Control 21
C.6. Decentralization of the Seed Production Programme 21
C.7. Production of Various Classes of the Seed 21
C.8. Drought, Flood and Seeds 21
C.9. Support for System of Rice Intensification (SRI) 22
C.10. Support to Mitigate Impacts of Dry Spell 22
C.11. Environmental Sustainability 23
C.12. Capacity Building 23
C.13. Meetings of the Committees 26
C.14. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) 26
C.14.1. Evaluation of Seed and Post-harvest Projects 26
C.15. Relevant Cross-cutting Issues 27
C.16. Project Economic Benefits and Sustainability 27
D. Project Outline and Results 29
D.1. Achievement of Results 30
D.2. Relevance 32
D.3. Sustainability 35
D.3.1. Financial Sustainability 35
D.3.2. Institutional Sustainability 36
D.3.3. Policy Level Sustainability 36
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D.3.4. Environmental Sustainability 36
D.3.5. Social Sustainability 36
D. 4. Implementation 36
E. Follow-Up Actions 38
F. Lessons Learned 39
F.1. Lessons Learned – Elements of Success 39
F.2. Lessons Learned – Impediments/Constraints 40
G. Recommendations 40
H. Possible Priorities Areas for a Project Extension or Complementary Project 43
Annex – I. General Information on Demonstration Cooperative Farms 44
Annex – II. Assets Delivered under Seed Project 45-48.
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Acronyms
AAS Academy of Agricultural Sciences
AGP Plant Production and Protection Division
BH Budget Holder
BS Breeder Seed
CBS Central Bureau of Statistics
CFSAM FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission
CPF Country Programming Framework
CPFIC Country Programming Framework Implementation Committee
CS Certified Seed
DPRK The Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea
EMOP Emergency Operation
ESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
EUPS European Union Programme Support Units
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FAORAP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
FAOSOs FAO Strategic Objectives
FAORP FAO Regional Priorities
FCCC Framework Convention on Climate Change
FS Foundation Seed
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GNP Gross National Product
GoDPRK Government of DPRK
HYV High Yielding Varieties
IEC Information, Education and Communication
INM Integrated Nutrient Management
IPM Integrated Pest Management
IRRI International Rice Research Institute, Philippines
Juche Self Reliance
LPC Local Procurement Committee
LTO Lead Technical Officer
LTU Lead Technical Unit
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
MICS Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey
MoA Ministry of Agriculture
MoC Ministry of Commerce
MoLEP Ministry of Land and Environmental Protection
MoPH Ministry of Public Health
MOV Means of Verification
NC DPRK National Committee for FAO
NMDGs National MDGs
NPC National Project Coordinator
NPD National Project Director
NTE Not to Exceed (end date)
OPV Open Pollinated Varieties
OSRO Office for Special Relief Operations
PAC Pyongyang Agricultural Campus (Also known as Pyongyang Agri. University)
PB Project Board
PDS Public Distribution System
PMU Project management Unit
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PRRO Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation
PTF Project Task Force
RPFAP Regional Priority Framework for Asia and the Pacific 2010-2019
SCST State Commission for Science and Technologies
SOFI State of Food Insecurity in the World
SPC State Planning Commission
SRI System of Rice Intensification
TCP Technical Cooperation Programme
TCSR Donor Liaison and Resource Mobilization Team
TF Trust Fund
TOR Terms of Reference
TR Terminal Report
TSS Technical Support Services
TWG Technical Working Group
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund
VRI Vegetable Research Institute
WFP World Food Programme
WHO World Health Organization
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Acknowledgements: FAO would like to acknowledge and thank UNDP for funding the project
DRK/10/004//01/99 – Improved Seed Production for Sustainable Agriculture, which enabled us to
carry out the activities reported in this report. UNDP took keen interest in the implementation and
monitoring the progress of the project. They deserve special appreciation and thanks.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed Project
8
A.3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A.3.1. Prelude: This report is the Terminal Report (TR) of the project, “Improved Seed Production for
Sustainable Agriculture (Seed project)”, funded by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
and executed by Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in the Democratic
People‟s Republic of Korea (DPRK), operationally closed on 31st October 2014. Its purpose is to close
the project in a formal way with a statement about the project‟s activities which reflect on its
performance over the past more than three years using the commonly accepted evaluation criteria
(relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability), and finally drawing out
some conclusions, and making recommendations for the future.
A.3.2. The Problem: The Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea has had mixed experience in its
quest to achieve food security. One of the factors constraining the country‟s efforts has been poor
quality seeds. The seed multiplication sub sector is faced with weak research and extension culture,
low level of awareness among farmers and poor technology applications. All these have affected
efforts to increase agricultural productivity and improving rural livelihoods in a sustainable manner.
Average crop yields in the DPRK, are substantially low than yields achieved in the other countries of
this region. The main reasons for this are poor quality of soil (which lacks organic matter and soil
nutrients due to continuous mono- cropping), inadequate supply of fertilizer, and poor quality seeds of
inappropriate varieties.
Poor quality of seed is reflected in the use of almost twice the normal quantity of seed per unit area
used by farmers to grow rice and maize, perhaps to compensate for low germination percentage. With
the successful double crop technology recently introduced in the country, maize and wheat are getting
popular with the farmers as a second crop in addition to rice based mono- cropping farming. Among
the limitations to expand double cropping, however, is inadequate supply of high quality certified
seed.
The total seed requirement, excluding potato, is estimated to be 227 000 MT calculated on seeding
rates presently used by farmers, which are about twice the normal seeding rates used in other
countries. If the germination quality of seed is improved and farmers are advised to economize on
seeding rates, the effective demand for quality seed will be approximately 170 000 MT. The Seed
Management Department of the MoA through its 240 co-operative seed farms is annually producing
156 000 MT of certified seed under the seed certification system. It may not be possible to raise the
quality of seed due to limited seed testing facilities in the regional crop inspection centres, and lack of
trained professionals with adequate knowledge of modern seed and seed health testing procedures.
Furthermore, the seed production farms are not properly equipped for seed production, seed
conditioning and storage. There is lack of appropriate early maturing varieties suitable to promote
double cropping. Superior variety breeding aspects, including variety maintenance and regular source
of high quality breeder seed also require improvement.
Of the above-mentioned 156 000 MT, the percentage of seed supplied of acceptable quality
according to international standards was estimated at 13 percent at the time of project formulation.
Due to the lack of appropriate cleaning and processing facilities, seed farmers failed to meet the
international seed standards in terms of rate of germination, moisture and impurities.
A.3.3. The Response:
Strategy indentified to solve the project problem:
a. Triangle Approach: The project practiced „Triangle Approach‟ which is very successful in many
developing countries including DPRK. Triangle Approach means three angles are composed of
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
9
International Organizations (FAO and Donor), concerned Government Departments (Local Authority
and Technical Departments) and Community (Members of targeted cooperative farms).
b. Participatory Process: Project implementation was based on people‟s participatory approach so
that they were included in the project and developed ownership of it. Planning, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of project activities were based on a participatory approach. The project
carried out community mobilization using a participatory, gender-sensitive and community-based
approach. The project envisaged ownership of the development efforts to evolve and take root at the
level of cooperative farmers and their institutions through the involvement of the key stakeholders.
Farmers responded enthusiastically to new initiatives and accepted advice based on successful
experience, provided they were given the opportunity to participate freely and make their own
judgements and choices. Attention was placed on developing self-reliance amongst Work Teams of
cooperative farms through an effective social mobilisation process and introduction of appropriate
management procedures aimed at strengthening the capacity of its members to resolve problems
generated during implementation.
c. Equity: The needs and opportunities of vulnerable groups were specifically considered in the
context of improved access to resources, information, inputs and services. The project aimed to
provide women with equal access to training and inputs within project activities. Community-based
activities that promoted seed security (training on seed production and protection) involved specially
women in identifying and prioritizing their needs and responding to their needs.
d. Participatory Learning Action: The project experts and the beneficiaries introduced the location-
specific, low-level and low-cost technologies to produce improved seeds based on participatory
learning actions that allowed them to learn from each other about the merits of traditional and
scientific knowledge. It also utilized the knowledge and experience of international professionals to
train and improve the capacity of the national counterparts in the selected areas through training and
demonstrations, information, experience exchange, and consultancy services.
e. Harmonization of Development Efforts: Complementary collaboration among all partners (in
particular with EUPS Unit 2, 3 and 4 involved in agriculture and seed production) was fostered. The
project strived to harmonize its interventions with other international efforts, the government‟s broader
plans and programmes and other international organizations‟ projects and activities. This directly
benefited the government in terms of savings from preventing duplication of efforts and ensuring
efficiency of programmes related to agriculture and seed production.
f. Flexibility: The project in its design, partnerships and working methods had a built-in flexibility to
enable the stakeholders to experiment, learn and adapt to their specific needs and opportunities. The
project focused on suggestions received from local governments, project staff and the beneficiary
groups during the annual planning activities and Project Board meetings. Therefore, the activities
currently mentioned in this Terminal Report were refined and improved in the course of its
implementation with kind approval of the Project Board.
Expected Results (key outputs and outcome): The project has achieved approximately 85 - 95 %
of the following major outcomes:
i. Enhanced capacity of professionals engaged in planning and implementation of a coordinated
seed improvement programme.
ii. Enhanced capabilities of professional in production, processing and testing of seeds.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
10
iii. Enhanced capacities of professionals and improved facilities for seed production and
conditioning.
iv. Enhanced capacities of professionals and improved facilities for seed certification.
v. Farmers' awareness and knowledge for use of certified quality of seeds of recommended varieties
improved.
vi. Availability of quality seeds in higher quantities that are suited to the agro and ecological
conditions of the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
So far, the project has achieved the following major outputs:
i. Standard technologies and management in seed production and processing introduced in project
farms – achievement: approximately 90-95 %,
ii. Seed quality control system improved - achievement: approximately *85 - 95 %,
iii. Seed policy and ordinance issue addressed - achievement: approximately **80-90 %,
* Major constraints: Lack of seed processing equipments/machineries,
** It is not so practical and may not need to change the Seed Policy, rather it is more practical and
needed to change Seed Guidelines at field and lab levels.
In general, most of the outputs are achieved as per project‟s targets.
Eventual Changes:
a. The Project was initially approved and signed in November 2006, but never started implementation
due to suspension of all UNDP programme in the DPR Korea in March 2007. In line with Executive
Board directives the project was resumed starting with a reformulation and re-approval in 2011,
aligned with the priorities set in UNDP Country Programme Document (CP). In the contemporary
context, the project is also aligned with the Country Programming Framework (CPF), 2012-2015
agreed upon by the FAO and the Govt. of DPR Korea as well as with the FAO‟s Strategic Objectives
(SO) to contribute to the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.
b. The project formally commenced in April 2011. The project virtually started in September 2011 with
the inception workshop held in Pyongyang and its operations gained momentum with the positioning
of the project manager, its Chief Technical Adviser, in December 2011.
c. No major changes were made in project design. However, the numbers of trainees per training were
decreased from 100 to 50 as approved by second Project Board meeting. The saving from training sub-heading
was used to construct farm infrastructures and procure farm equipments/machineries as approved by Project
Board meetings.
A.3.4. Results Achieved: The relevant text of „Project Evaluation Report, April 2014‟ is quoted. Quote:
The “Improved Seed Production for Sustainable Agriculture” project concentrated its support to the
seed sector in DPRK via farms that produce seed of both, staple food and vegetable crops. Project
outputs are a combination of capacity building efforts and the introduction of improved equipments,
which are expected to result in quantitative as well as qualitative advances of the seed production. The
so far achieved, preliminary average increase in seed production has been estimated at 20-25%.
Preliminary MoA records of qualitative improvements indicate that the percentage of seed passing
international quality standards increased from 13 to 20%. Unquote
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
11
Review:
a. In DPRK, the seed sector has made impressive progress in quantity of seed production. There has
been also a steady improvement in the quality of seeds particularly after inception of seed project, but
still there is long way to go to maintain the quality of seeds.
b. The monitoring and evaluation of the project was undertaken regularly at different levels, involving
project management, regular periodic project review by UNDP, technical support from Lead Technical
Unit from FAO Regional Office, Office of FAO Representation (FAOR) and the Project Board (PB) that
held five meetings for critical review of the project.
A.3.5. Follow-up Actions:
a. Seed Quality: The essence of any seed programme consists in quality control and seed is different from grain
only if certain qualities which are important from the point of view of genetic purity are preserved carefully. The
seed programme without quality control will result in failure. Therefore, it requires utmost attention and follow-up.
Under a typical seed generation chain, breeder seed is multiplied from nucleolus seed. However, it is
observed that sometime breeder seed is multiplied in bulk from breeder seed itself for several
generations. Similarly foundation seed is supposed to be multiplied from breeder seed but instances
are there when it is multiplied from foundation seed itself till seed physically looks fine. The practice of
bulk increase of breeder seed and unlimited multiplication cycles of foundation seed without going
back to breeder seed may seriously affect the quality of seed and should be discontinued. Standard
procedures for breeder seed production required to be laid down for each crop and multiplication of
foundation seed should be restricted to only two generations only i.e., foundation seed stage-I and
foundation seed stage-II as specified in the seed certification standards.
b. Second Phase of the Project: The project was completed on 31st October, 2014. Many positive
things are happening in seed sector. However, these successes are not enough, there is still long way
to go. FAO and MoA will not be in position to carry out the most needed activities related to seed after
closure of the project. In order to carry the efforts of this completed project to a logical conclusion and
also to provide a basis for sustainability as well as a good exit strategy for both the donor and FAO,
Phase II should be designed as soon as possible to cover actions required for sustainable
development of seed sector.
B. GOVERNMENT ATTENTION
Specific Findings and Recommendations for Government Attention: It is well established that
technology comprising improved method of farming, use of hybrid seeds and efficient use of fertilizers
etc. have enhanced the crop yield universally. Good seed of good varieties plays an important role.
As a matter of fact good quality seed of superior varieties is the best and the cheapest carrier of
improved farm technologies. Sustained increase in production and productivity is dependent, to a
large extent, on development of new and improved varieties of crops. It has become evident that in
order to increase the food production more effort will be required to enhance the seed production of
hybrid rice and introduction of hybrid maize varieties which have perfect crop-weather modelling. This
would require more financial resources.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
12
C. Major Activities Carried Out by the Project
C.1. Introduction:
C.1.1. Background: The DPR Korea has had mixed experience in its quest to achieve food security.
One of the factors constraining the country‟s efforts has been lack of good quality seeds. The seed
multiplication sub sector is faced with weak research and extension culture, low level of awareness
among farmers and poor technology applications. All these have adversely affected efforts to increase
agricultural productivity and improving rural livelihoods in a sustainable manner. To address this,
UNDP and the government of DPRK collaborated to design and implement interventions to support
quality seed multiplication (improved quality and variety), capacity enhancement at the farm level,
providing appropriate technology and seed management skills and policy review and, reform with a
bid to increase productivity and food availability in an ecologically sustainable manner for sustainable
rural livelihoods.
In DPR Korea, the production of nucleolus/breeder and foundation/certified seed relies on the
Academy of Agricultural Sciences (AAS) and cooperative foundation and certified seed farms, both
are involved in an integrated seed production chain. Academy of Agricultural Sciences (AAS)
produces nucleus and breeder seeds in small quantities and breeder seed is multiplied on 25
cooperative foundation seed farms to produce foundation seed. Foundation seeds are then multiplied
at 240 cooperative certified seed farms for the production of certified seed. Certified seeds are usually
those destined for commercial distribution to large numbers of farmers on a regional and national
basis for the purpose of crop production on more than 3,500 cooperative farms.
For ensuring the quality of seeds there is a separate Central Seed Inspection Centre in Pyongyang.
International Organizations like Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and EUPS
Unit 4 (Welt Hunger Hilfe) are helping to develop well equipped seed quality laboratory at the centre.
The centre has more than 46 experts working in different branches. It has 10 provincial seed
inspection centres to deal with quality control of seed in the field.
C.1.2. Agriculture in DPRK, a Snapshot: Agriculture sector, including forestry and fisheries, is the
mainstay of the national economy of DPR Korea. With its contribution to the total GDP of the order of
20 percent and engagement of 36% its workforce, the agriculture sector holds prominent importance
for food and livelihood security and socio economic well being of the people. However, the sector is
seized with many challenges. Its inconsistent and vulnerable performance and the resultant impact on
the economic and social distributive gains in terms of food and nutrition security of the people is a
cause of concern. The main factors leading to this concerning situation are adverse topography,
inclement weather, climatic aberrations and restricted farming opportunity in the country.
Based on the Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission‟s (CFSAM, 2013) estimate, total food
requirement of DPR Korea stands at 5.37 million tonnes of cereal equivalent (rice in milled terms).
Further, Mission estimates a cereal import requirement of 340,000 tonnes for the 2013/14 marketing
year (November/October). Assuming the official import target of 300,000 tonnes of cereals is met, the
Mission estimates an uncovered food deficit of 40,000 tonnes for the current marketing year. This
food gap is the narrowest in many years, and is mainly due to the higher 2013 production. Despite the
improved harvest, the food security situation remains similar to previous years with most households
having borderline and poor food consumption.
The estimated vegetable production comes to 0.45 million tonnes assuming average productivity of
15 tonnes/ha from an area of 30,000 ha against the requirement of 2.50 million tonnes of vegetables
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
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based on minimum dietary requirement of 300 g vegetables/day/individual. Obviously, there is a gap
of 340,000 tonne in food demand and supply, and 2 million tonnes in case of vegetables.
As per the latest estimates/statistics available, total land area of DPRK is 122,543 square kilometres
of which an estimated 17% i.e. approximately 2 million hectares is arable land under cooperative
farms. Rice, maize and potato constitute the major food crops of DPRK. Of these rice and maize,
DPRK‟s major staple food crops, contribute respectively 45 and 34 percent to country‟s food grain
production. Self-sufficiency in food production is a national priority. To achieve self-sufficiency in food
production a major share has to come from rice and maize crops.
There has been degradation in the natural resource base. DPR Korea is one of the countries
experiencing the impact of climatic changes. DPRK‟s agriculture today is at the crossroads from
ecological, economic, and equity standpoints. Thanks to tools continuously being provided by modern
technology, there is a unique opportunity to build a new agricultural production system, based on
harmony among the different goals and components of the system. Considering the future challenges,
alternatives need to be thought of and devised to address them adequately. Accordingly, the options
should be sustainable i.e., economically viable and ecologically sound in nature, to qualify for
selection and subsequent adoption. Thus increasing the food production per unit of land through
better natural resource management is perhaps one of the best options and the ways to salvage the
food, nutrient and livelihood security. The conclusion is clear that fighting food and nutritional
insecurity makes sense not only as an expression of a basic human right, but also because it is a
good economic investment.
C.1.3. Planting and Harvesting Time (Source: Cooperative Farm Managers):
Cereal crops:
S. No
Crop
Planting/sowing
time
Harvesting time
01 Rice June October/November
02 Maize April September
03 Wheat November June
04 Barley November June/July
Vegetable crops:
Crop Nursery Sowing Transplanting Harvesting time Yield potential
(tons/ha)
Cabbage Middle of Feb Mid-March End of May to early
June
40
Eggplant Early Feb End of April to end of May Middle of July to
end of October
30
Cucumber End of April End of May Middle of June to
end of July
50
Spinach - Direct sowing-end of Sep Early May 40
For vegetable seed crops:
Crop Nursery sowing Transplanting Seed harvesting Seed yield
(kg/ha)
Cabbage Middle of Feb End of March Early June 650 (hybrid
seed)
Spinach - Direct sowing-end of Sep End of June 700 (OP seed)
Radish Early Feb End of March Early July 500 )hybrid
seed)
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
14
Cucumber Early April Early May Early August 100 (OP seed)
Pumpkin Early April Early May Early August 100 (OP seed)
Lettuce Early Feb End of March Middle July 200 (OP seed)
C.1.4. Major Problems of Seed Sector: The government carries all the load of seed sector
development. Under such a situation sometime seed programme may face competition for local funds
and foreign exchange. Seed growing, harvesting, processing, treating and storage are specialized
operations and require equipment that may not be common in grain farming. Therefore, availability of
enough resources is very important issue. The major problems being faced by the seed programme
are flagged below:
i. Most of the equipment needed cannot be purchased locally and import is unavoidable.
ii. Unfortunately, during import large selection is not available and equipment of high standard and
quality from industrialized countries could not be imported.
iii. The seed-growing institutions do not have sufficient resources to support, renovate and
rehabilitate essential infrastructure.
iv. Shortage of specialized machinery and equipment.
v. Insufficient availability of fuel, spare parts, fertilizer and chemicals/reagents.
vi. Lack of premises, buildings and equipment for drying, processing, treating and safe storage of the
seed.
vii. Timeliness of operations is vital to the success of every aspect of the seed programme. Thus, it is
extremely important that funds be available when they are needed.
viii. Insufficient support to seed sector causing a vicious circle: less of support leads to less production
of quality seed and low yields. It has very strong bearing on the food production and self
sufficiency.
C.2. Technical Support on “Basic Strategy of Seed Production”: Project staff visited seeds farms
and had informal and formal meetings/discussions several times with concerned Government officials
to provide technical support on „basic strategy of seed production”. The basic strategy should be
comprehensive in scope and should provide for the adequate development of the physical
infrastructure and the various facilities required for producing and marketing/distributing high quality
seed. This involves six principles.
i. Integrated development: The production of quality seeds is possible only when all necessary
inputs are made available to seed growers and all development works e.g., land levelling,
development of irrigation resources, etc., for raising an excellent crop are carried out at the seed
producer‟s farm.
ii. Compact area approach: While developing seed programme, the seed production should be
concentrated in compact areas of seed production farms suitable for high quality but low cost
seed production.
iii. Organisation of production: In DPRK context, seed production is organized through Academy of
Agricultural Science (AAS), Cooperative Seed Farms, and the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA).
iv. Criteria for site selection: In selecting suitable sites for seed production the following criteria
should be observed:
a. The area selected for development of seed programmes must have favourable agronomic
conditions for high quality seed production, preferably in more than one season, as well as
favourable conditions for seed storage.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
15
b. Given the need for maximising seed multiplication ratios, the area must have the proven
ability to produce crops with well-above-average yields. Areas with assured irrigation should
be preferred.
v. Technical guidance: The association or active involvement of the agricultural universities/research
institutes with seed programmes should be preferred because they are the sources of (a)
breeding and screening of new varieties; (b) multiplication of nucleus/breeder‟s and foundation
seed; (c) technical guidance; and (d) can help the programmes by providing service facilities.
vi. Choice of varieties: Only truly superior varieties adapted to the agro-climatic conditions of the
selected area for seed production should be selected, and for which cultivator demands exists, or is
being generated through constant efforts.
C.3. Co-ordination/Consultation Process with Cooperative Farms and Stakeholders: An
essential guiding principle for the implementation of the Project was the full involvement of
cooperative farms and concerned stakeholders, through all stages from conception and planning to
implementation and monitoring. Such participation is important, not only as a globally accepted best
practice, but also because the cooperative farms in DPRK demand a local approach. The Project
therefore emphasizes on appropriate approaches that: (i) ensure that cooperative farms are involved
at all stages of the project management cycle; (ii) build trust within cooperative farmers‟ communities
through transparency and equity; (iii) listen to the views of farmers; (iv) “build back better” to reduce
farmers vulnerability to future long dry spell and floods; and (v) sustain participatory self-monitoring
and evaluation systems.
The general organizational pattern of the country‟s government and tradition affect the organizational
structure of the seed programme. The Ministry of Agriculture has the main responsibility for ensuring
that there is a healthy seed production programme that meets the needs of the farmers. The following
organizations of the GoDPRK are responsible for variety release and registration, seed production
and quality control:
Organizational Chart
Organization/Institute Seed Supply System/
Activities and Responsibilities
Ministry of Agriculture (MoA)
State Variety Comparison and
Test Committee
Registration of varieties.
-variety testing and adaptive trials in-country
-variety release/description/recommendation
Academy of Agricultural
Sciences(AAS)
32 different research institutes
-Rice Research Institute
-Maize Research Institute
-Central Veg. Institute
-Potato Research Institute
-variety breeding and
development.
-variety maintenance by
breeder.
-variety sourcing
-line selection/variety
development in-country.
-breeder seed production.
- training.
Seed Production Dept, MoA Seed Production Division
25 Foundation Seed Farms
240 Certified seed farms
-central production/stock
records and allocation.
Foundation and certified seed
production.
-quality control.
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16
Central Seed Inspection Centre 10 Provincial Seed Inspection
Centres
-crop inspection.
-seed testing.
-labelling/certification.
Beside this project, few International NGOs are also involved in seed production activities as a part of
their larger agricultural programme. The multiplicity of donor agencies dealing in such a vital aspect of
agriculture is certainly to be welcomed. It would be difficult to lay down rigidly the precise task of each
agency and to enforce the same. However, to avoid overlapping of activities and wastage of
resources, it is necessary to demarcate the roles of these agencies in the seed development
programme and adhere to such demarcation as far as possible. For this purpose an Agricultural
Coordination Group has been constituted. Food security information and assessment is undoubtedly
a domain where FAO is recognized to have a comparative advantage. The project CTA always
provided technical input for the benefit of the group. The meetings are held regularly to discuss the
agricultural activities being carried out by each agency.
In principle, the task of all concerned government institutions namely: Academy of Agricultural
Sciences(AAS), Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and 265 cooperative seed farms is to provide to the
farmers high quality seed of the best varieties bringing the fruits of research to the farmers‟ doors in
the quickest possible time. The project played an important role in realising this goal. The project was
designed to ensure that the seed that was produced at three major foundation seed farms was of
assured quality, genetically and physically pure, and was made available to certified seed farms in
good condition.
C.4. Equipments, Machineries and Infrastructures: It is difficult if not impossible to operate a good
seed programme without installing proper seed facilities and starting them operating. Seed drying,
processing, testing and treating operations need such facilities in working order. The absence of
proper seed drying facility on all three seed farms is a major source of concern. There is a feeling,
that creation of proper seed drying facilities should be first priority. For various reasons it was not so
practical to install artificial drying facilities but construction of seed drying floor to dry seeds under
natural conditions was equally important to improve the quality of seed. Usually, seed is harvested at
higher moisture level to minimize the post harvest losses through shattering or bird damage, etc. In
such cases the moisture must be brought down to 12-14 per cent within a few days. Even with crops
which are harvested at lower moisture percentages, it would be better to dry them quickly so that the
seed stocks could be processed without any delay and the risk of contamination, etc., kept to the
minimum. Therefore, construction of threshing -cum- seed drying floor was an important activity of the
project. The seed processing and packaging facilities also need major improvement. The main
objective of seed processing is to preserve the viability of the seeds from harvesting till sowing. For
this, suitable seed processing equipment of standard quality are needed.
C.4.1. Equipments and Machineries: Project provided the following farm equipments and
machineries to 3 seed farms and 1 seed testing laboratory supported by the project. In addition,
project staff visited very frequently seed farms and seed lab and provided technical support for proper
use of equipments and machineries. The details of equipments and machineries provided by the
project are attached as annex - II.
Major Farm Machineries provided to Seed Farms and Seed Testing Laboratory:
S.N. Item Description Unit
1. Tractor, 4wd, 75 hp, Foton-754 with spare parts 3
2. Spring tine cultivator for 75 hp tractor 3
3. Tripping trailer, 4 wheeled 3
4. Mould board plough, 3-furrows 3
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
17
5. Light truck, 2 ton capacity, FAW 4
6. Seed cleaner 3
7. Wet seed extractor for fruits & vegetables 3
8. Platform weighing scale 3
9. Seed lab equipments 4 sets
10. Bag stitching machine 3
11. Fibre drum to store breeder and foundation seeds 100
12. Water pumps to save seed plots from long dry spell 5
13. Maize Sheller 3
14. Mobile Thresher 3
15. Plastic Pallets 100
16. Rice Transplanter 9
17. Digital Grain Moisture Meter 18
18. Knap sack sprayers 30
19. Installation of dehumidifier and cooling unit at Seed Store 1complete set
20. 2WD Farm Walking Tractor, 12 HP and its accessories
namely, trailer, plough, and rotary tiller
3
Brief description of major equipments/machineries and their importance:
a. Plastic Pallets: Project constructed one Seed Store and project had provision to procure 100
locally made wooden pallets. After analysis all the relevant factors namely, cost-effectiveness, easily
availability, durability, environment friendliness, etc., project decided to procure plastic pallets instead
of wooden pallets. Plastic pallets were easily available in Pyongyang, DPRK.
Technical specifications of plastic pallets suitable for the storage of seed and food commodities:
Dimension: 1200 x 1000 x 150 mm; Material: High density polyethylene (HDPE); Colour: Black; Load
Capacity: Static: 5000 kg, Dynamic: 1000 kg, Racking System: 400 kg.
Allotment: Maekjon Foundation Farm – 50, Unpa Certified Farm – 25, and Daesong Certified Farm –
25.
b. Rice Transplanter: Project had provision to procure some small equipments/machineries locally
fabricated/assembled like drum seed treater, simple seed cleaner, thresher, corn sheller, rice
transplanter, etc. Modernization of agriculture requires appropriate matching machinery for ensuring
timely field operations and effective application of agricultural inputs. It also requires machinery for
reducing drudgery in agriculture. Considering need, project procured 9 rice transplanters. Seeds
farms are unable to transplant rice on time mainly due to availability of limited farm machineries and
workers. The seedling age is mainly depends upon duration of variety. Short duration varieties (120
days) are to be uprooted at 23-25 days age and planted. At this stage the seedling should have 4-5
leaves to carryout photosynthesis. The medium and long duration varieties can be planted at the age
of 30 days without any yield losses. While only 8-12 days young seedlings with low plant density (25
cm x 25 cm) are recommended using System of Rice Intensification (SRI).
Allotment:
a. Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong county, Pyongyang – 3 units,
b. Daesong Certified Seed Farm, Sukchon county, South Pyongan – 3 units, and
c. Up Certified Seed Farm, Unpa county, North Hwanghae – 3 units.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
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c. Digital Grain Moisture Meter: Moisture content of seeds is one of the most important factors in the
maintenance of seed quality. From the time of harvest to time of planting, seed moisture varies and if
it rises above certain critical levels for any appreciable time period at any stage there is danger of
undesirable stimulation of physiological processes within the seed with consequent deterioration and
loss of seed viability. Knowledge of moisture content, therefore is needed to decide whether seeds
should be dried down before storage or shipment and to determine proper conditions of storage.
Seed farms were very much in need of moisture meter to measure moisture percentage of
seeds/grains. Every year, the country‟s seed industry suffers significant losses due to improper and
inadequate drying of the seed. For instance, newly harvested high moisture paddy (20-26%) must be
dried down to a level of 14%, wet basis. Drying of seed lots, i.e., lowering down the seed moisture
content to safe moisture limit is very important in order to maintain seed viability and vigour, which
may otherwise deteriorate fast due to mould growth, heating and increased micro-organism activity.
The other advantages of seed drying are:
i. Permits early harvest;
ii. Permits long-term storage;
iii. Permits more efficient use of land and man power;
iv. Permits use of plant stalks as green fodder; and
v. Permits seed farms to sell/distribute a better quality product.
Allotment: 6 units/farm; 6 units x 3 seed farms = total 18 units.
d. Knap Sack Sprayer: Knapsack hand sprayer, manual, 20 litres capacity are easy to be used for
agricultural purpose. The same kind of 9 knapsack sprayers was procured in 2012. Beneficiaries were
very much satisfied with the performance of this kind of sprayer. Considering need at field level and
availability of budget, 3rd
Project Board meeting recommended to procure additional 30 same kind of
knap sack sprayers with basic spare parts. Nowadays battery operated knapsack is also available
which is more convenient to use. However, it will be very difficult to repair in DPR Korea when it will
get out of order. So, it was better to go for manual sprayer. CTA had seen the use of both kinds of
sprayers in NRS, Myanmar in 2010 during campaign to control Army Worm in rice crop and it was
found that manual knap sack sprayer was more durable than battery operated ones.
Basic Guidelines for Maintenance: Project trained concerned Team Leaders of Work Teams on
maintenance. In fact, modern knapsack sprayers are designed for ease of service and maintenance.
Only a few simple rules are needed to keep the equipment in top condition. These include:
i. reading the service manual to check for any specific service requirement of equipment,
ii. at the end of each spraying job, thoroughly clean the inside and outside of the sprayer,
disassemble it, and clean each part meticulously,
iii. check for wear and correct fitting of "O" rings (it may even be advisable to have a few spare "O"
rings on hand), and
iv. complete the service by reassembling the unit and returning it to storage. Sprayers should not be
left out in the sun, as the ultra-violet radiation harms the plastic and shortens its useful life.
Allotment: Maekjon Foundation Farm – 13, Unpa Certified Farm – 13, and Daesong Certified Farm –
13.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
19
e. Installation of Dehumidifier with Cooling Unit at Seed Store: Installation of dehumidifier along
with cooling unit particularly at Maekjon Foundation Seed Store was the most practical and cost-
effective measure in DPRK. Pyongyang has a humid continental climate. Cold, dry winds can blow
from Siberia in winter, making conditions very cold; the low temperature is usually below freezing
between November and early March, although the average daytime high is a few degrees above
freezing point in every month except January. The winter is generally much drier than summer, with
snow falling for 37 days on average. The transition from the cold, dry winter to the warm, wet summer
occurs rather quickly between April and early May, and there is a similar abrupt return to winter
conditions in late October and November. Summers are generally hot and humid, with the East Asian
monsoon taking place from June until August; these are also the hottest months, with average
temperatures of 21 to 25°C (70 to 77° F), and daytime highs often above 30° C (86° F). The average
temperature during winter period is -20o
C. While the required temperature and humidity inside seed
store are -5o C to 5
o C and 20-30 % respectively.
Benefits of Dehumidification:
i. Extended Storage Life: Seedsmen report a tripling of storage life in the low relative humidity
environment provided by dehumidifiers.
ii. Improved Indoor Air Quality: When fungus is eliminated, the working environment for the
employees improves dramatically. Dry environments can reduce the microbiological growth to
less than 1/10th of the growth in a similar humid building.
iii. Insure Safe Cold Storage: Seeds last longer at low temperatures. Because dehumidifiers work
equally well at high and low temperatures, one can store seeds at any temperature without having
to worry about high humidity.
iv. Avoid Costly Re-Packaging: Since desiccant dehumidifiers prevent moisture regain, there is no
need to invest time and money to repackage seeds in vapour-tight bags. Producers can literally
save thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours annually.
v. Reduce Winter Heating Bills: Storing seeds at low relative humidity saves energy, extends seed
life and prevents storage losses.
vi. The low temperature capability of desiccant dehumidifiers allows one to turn off the heat in the
storage facility completely, and still maintain control of the relative humidity in the space. There is
no need to heat the building to control humidity or prevent condensation. Desiccant dehumidifiers
take care of the problem much more efficiently than a heater.
vii. Since desiccant dehumidifiers will not freeze, they work as effectively in winter as in summer to
protect stored seeds. Desiccant dehumidifiers can insure a reliable, efficient, low humidity
environment.
C.4.2. Infrastructure Development:
a. Seed Storage: The safe storage of seeds is important for several reasons. Seed viability must also
be protected (germplasm protection) for various uses by the plant scientists who maintain a
permanent reservoir of seed stock by establishing a seed bank. Some of the factors affecting the final
quality of the seeds are:
i. Treatment during harvesting,
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
20
ii. Type of processing,
iii. Method of drying, and
iv. Environmental control during storage, particularly temperature and relative humidity.
Storage conditions depend on the projected future use of the seed. Seed storage has certain
requirements which include protection from water, contamination, rodents, fungi, fire etc. However,
relative humidity and temperature are the most critical aspects to keep in mind during storage. The
two are actually interrelated. In short term storage their relationship can be expressed by a simple rule
of thumb. Storage temperature (in deg. F) plus relative humidity should total 100. For instance, 60°F
at 40% RH or 55°F at 45% RH or 65°F at 35% RH. In most cases the dew point to be maintained
inside corresponds to approximately 35°F. This is a good design condition for short-term storage.
Seed storage facilities protect a very large investment. The costs of seeds are high, and in research
applications, the seeds may be irreplaceable at any cost. Thousands of dollars and hours of costly
effort can be lost at a single stroke when fungus and mould attack seeds in storage. Too much
moisture in the seeds in combination with warm temperatures provide an ideal environment for
microbiological growth.
Considering above circumstances, Project constructed a Seed Store of 50 MT capacity at Maekjon
Foundation Seed farm. In addition, dehumidifier with air cooling system was installed.
b. Construction of Greenhouse: The project has provision to construct altogether 20 greenhouses
at 3 seed farms. The CTA along with senior national staff visited several models of greenhouses in
the country. Considering cost-effectiveness, durability and need, the most suitable 2 models were
selected.
Model 1: Greenhouse, one side with concrete wall and the rest of surface with vinyl sheet – 6 units, 2
greenhouses/seed farm, and
Model 2: Greenhouse without concrete wall - 6 units, 2 greenhouses/seed farm.
c. Threshing cum Drying Floor: Project constructed 8 units of cemented threshing cum seed drying
floors (1,000 m2) with galvanized iron sheeting for roof in threshing area and open area for drying. To
protect seed during open air storage on these floors some improved practices were introduced. To
reduce dampness penetration from the ground into seed, the seed threshing cum seed drying floor
was built up to ensure that it is above the surrounding land. A concrete slab was built to reduce insect
infestation from the ground and to reduce admixture of debris when the seed is collected. Moisture
proof polypropylene tarpaulins under the seed prevented penetration of moisture from the ground.
Covering the seed with a water proof water shedding covering during rains and at night to prevent
condensation of dew on the seed retarded the increase of moisture in the seed during high humid
times.
d. Drying Facility: Total 3 units of Drying Facilities (roof surface: 127 M2, and surface paved yard:
400 M2) with transparent roof were constructed. Beneficiaries – 3 Cooperative Farms repeatedly
requested to construct Drying Facilities. Unavailability of Drying Facility is one of the major constraints
to produce good quality seeds. First post-harvest project constructed 2 Drying Facilities which are
very useful and very much liked by cooperative farms. It is very simple and most suitable design with
concrete floor and transparent shading. Considering the need at field level and cost-effectiveness in
DPRK context, second Project Board meeting suggested and approved to construct altogether 3
Drying Facilities for 3 seed farms (1 at each farm). Savings from non-expendable items and trainings
were used for this purpose.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
21
Impacts: The seed lots usually are at high moisture content at the time of harvesting and threshing.
In order to preserve seed viability and vigour it is necessary to dry seeds to safe moisture content
levels.
i. Drying of seeds to safe moisture limits is relatively faster than before.
ii. Less mechanical mixture since it is easier to clean the concrete floor than non-concrete floor.
iii. Easy to protect seed from rain under transparent roof.
iv. Transparent roof also allows sunshine.
C.5. Seed Quality Control: The Project supported in the following major control measures to control
the quality of seed multiplication and production:
i. An administrative check on the origin of propagating material for the purposes of determining
trueness to varietal purity (genetic purity).
ii. Field inspection – An evaluation of the growing crop for obtaining data on trueness to varietal
purity, isolation of seed crop to prevent cross pollination, mechanical admixtures, and disease
dissemination; and crop conditions as regards diseases, objectionable weeds and admixtures.
iii. Supervision of agricultural and commercial operations of harvesting, storage, transport and
processing with a view to preserving the identity and quality of the lots.
iv. Sample inspection – An evaluation of the planting quality by a laboratory test of a representative
sample drawn by the certification agency that aims at determining the percentage of germination,
moisture content, weed-seed content, admixture and purity.
v. Bulk inspection – An evaluation of the lot for the purpose of checking homogeneity of the bulk as
compared with the sample inspected.
Genetic Purity: The Project provided the following technical supports for maintaining genetic purity:
i. Providing adequate isolation to prevent contamination by natural crossing or mechanical mixtures.
ii. Roguing of seed fields prior to the stage at which they could contaminate the seed crop.
iii. Periodic testing of varieties for genetic purity.
iv. Avoiding genetic shifts by growing crops in areas of their adaptation only.
v. Certification of seed crops to maintain genetic purity and quality of seed.
vi. Adopting the seed generation system.
vii. Grow out tests.
C.6. Decentralization of the Seed Production Programme: It is high time to decentralize seed
production particularly certified seeds in isolated areas. Accordingly, decentralization of the seed
production was supported. At the same time, the centralized approach was also supported for
concentration of the seed production, processing and storage in the most favourable areas from the
point of view of agro-climatic conditions, high yields, and the provision of the technical services of the
highest order with large-sized modern processing plants. In DPRK context, the above approach
seems more practical and cost-effective.
C.7. Production of Various Classes of the Seed and Maintenance of Seed Generation Chain:
Production of all classes of seed in desired quantities, namely, breeder seed (BS), foundation seed (FS)
and certified seed (CS) is imperative to make the seed programme successful. Project explored to
support a fail-safe strategy for production of various classes of seed which involves decentralized
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
22
production and buffer stocking of adequate quantity. But, project faced constraint mainly due to limitation
of resources.
C.8. Drought, Flood and Seeds: Generally the normality of the monsoon is usually measured by the
quantity of rainfall received and not by the pattern of its distribution. However, it is inter-spell duration
that determines the destiny of crops and not just total rainfall. In several parts of the DPRK, there may
be drought in the early part of the monsoon period and floods later. As a result, the visit of drought
relief teams is followed by the visit of flood relief teams to the same area. Both drought and floods
have been subjects of study by numerous committees during the last few decades. Yet, even now
farm families face the same old problems because of lack of proactive and preventive measures.
As soon as the media draws attention to such acute distress in rural areas, the response is the same
– Relief teams are sent out, senior officers‟ visit, and relief packages are announced and distributed.
There is a better way of dealing with this chronic human tragedy. It is high time to go for the
development and implementation of drought, flood and good weather codes designed to enhance
capacity to minimize the adverse impact of aberrant monsoon behaviour on the one hand, and to
maximize the benefits of a good monsoon, on the other. As food grain reserves are essential for food
security, seed reserves are essential for crop security. Farmers often need seeds of food crops such
as short duration cereals, millet, pulses, and fodder crops. Feasible crop life saving techniques should
also be used. In flood affected areas, the cultivation of sweet potato, 60 days maize and other food
crops are preferred, after the floods recede. Sweet potato, which grows well in flood prone plains, also
strengthens household nutrition security. Such desirable adjustments in cropping systems will be
possible on a large scale only if advance preparations had been made to preserve and provide the
seeds and planting material for alternative cropping strategies to suit different weather probabilities.
The flood-prone plains also offer opportunities for using the saturated aquifer for minor irrigation
during the dry season.
C.9. Support for System of Rice Intensification (SRI): SRI is one of the major technologies to
increase the seed production as well as to decrease the requirement of the seed. SRI technology
requires 60-80 % less rice seeds, 20-25 % less nitrogen fertilizer and chemicals than normal
cultivation while increasing 10-15 % of productivity. It helps to control pests and diseases (such as
sheath blight, golden snail, root rots, etc.) while strengthening resistance to pathogens, and as a
result, reducing costs of pesticide. It saves about one third of water use compared to traditional
practices. Methane emissions from an SRI field is estimated to be one quarter of a non-SRI field.
Rice is a staple food crop and is widely grown in DPRK. Its planting area is 563,200 ha with an
average yield of 4.7 t/ha. Although rice has 38.5% of national total food crop planting area, it
contributes 50.8% of national total food production due to its relatively higher yield compared with
other food crops. Rice is very important crop for national food security and increasing farmers‟ income
in the country. With the limitations of technology and shortages of farming supplies, especially
fertilizer, such as potassium and phosphorus fertilizers which are essential for rice, and also due to
frequent disaster damage, rice yield is unstable and has declined in recent years even though some
high-yielding varieties are available. It is urgent to transform rice production with System of Rice
Intensification (SRI) to increase rice yield in the sustainable way.
Although some principles of SRI have already contributed to yield increase in some farms in the
country, integrated rice cultivation techniques needs to be modified to match the local rice
environment and production conditions in DPRK. Also key components of SRI need to be adapted for
use under DPRK circumstances. The gaps that need to be filled in SRI knowledge and practice are
suitable varieties, seedling-raising in upland seedbed, reasonable plant density, use of green manure
and recycling of rice straw, intermittent irrigation, and balanced fertilization (integrated nutrient
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
23
management). The development of a new integrated rice cultivation technique with SRI practices will
strengthen the professional research and extension ability for improving the rice sector.
C.10. Support to Mitigate Impacts of Dry Spell: Dry spell occurrence was more frequent for crop
cultivated on soil with low water-holding capacity than on high water-holding capacity. Upgrading
current farming system through Supplementary Irrigation (SI) and fertilizer can be viable and
sustainable way to improve livelihood security for smallholder cooperative farmers in a long-term
perspective.
Drought, floods, cyclones, typhoons, hailstorms, frost, dew and snowfall influence crop production to
varying degrees. Of all these phenomena, widespread long dry spell and drought historically had the
most detrimental effect. Water deficiency has had a much greater impact on agricultural production
than water excess.
Recommendations:
i. Good forecasts of rainfall, both of quantity and distribution, are needed for agriculture in the short,
medium, and long term, particularly during the rainy season. Both probabilistic and dynamic
forecasting methods should be further developed.
ii. The dialogue between meteorologists and agriculturists and soil scientists must continue and
FAO and donor agencies should be encouraged to support this activity, e.g., by setting up special
training programs on meteorological applications for agriculturists.
iii. Better communication and exchange of information in this area should be set up between
developed (high technology) and developing countries, e.g., through exchange visits and
symposia. Up-gradation of competence of human resource is crucial.
C.11. Environmental Sustainability: The following basic principles were kept in mind to achieve
success in promoting environmental sustainability:
i. Integrated systems of nutrient supply: include crop rotations, green manures and compost. It
reduces the need of chemical fertilizers to some extent.
ii. Water: The most cost-effective technology namely black and rice straw mulching introduced and
popularized to conserve the soil moisture.
iii. Genetic diversity: Genetic diversity and location-specific varieties are essential for achieving
sustainable advances in productivity.
iv. Integrated pest management: decreased the use of chemical pesticides.
v. Construction of threshing cum drying yards and seed stores: Introduced drying and storage
techniques are such that they don‟t only make much demand on non-renewable sources of
energy but they also prevent quantitative and qualitative damage to farm products.
vi. Location-specific research and development: A fundamental requirement for sustainability is
participatory research and training. This calls for new patterns of organisation of research, with
scientists and cooperative farm families becoming partners in the development and dissemination
of new technologies.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
24
C.12. Capacity Building: A major role of the project was to establish the linkages between scientific
know-how and field level (cooperative farms) do-how. For this purpose, project‟s activities were linked
with Academy of Agricultural Science (AAS), Pyongyang Agricultural Campus (PAC), Seed
Management Department and so on. However, capacity building is a challenging and interesting task
since the content of the capacity building has to be dynamic, demand driven, locally relevant, specific
and in Korean language.
Main objectives of the capacity building:
i. The dissemination of useful and practical information related to seed,
ii. The practical application of useful knowledge and skill to farm and home, and
iii. To get feedback from the concerned people about the technology transferred to them.
Major activities carried out: The following activities were carried out by СТА, International
Consultants (ICs), National Consultant (NC) – Seed Production, senior staffs of Seed Management
Department, Master Trainers and participants returned from abroad study tours depending on nature
of the training.
i. Seed seminar: Seed Programme development, seed legislation, seed policy
issues and planning of seed production. For technicians and extension of staff of Seed
Department of MOA, Project Managers from institutions participating in project, selected
managers of seed farms, in charge of Central Seed Inspection Centre and selected managers of
Provincial Crop Inspection Centers. 15 participants for 3 days, no. of training – 1.
ii. Training workshop on maintenance breeding and breeder seed production for professionals from
the 3 seed farms and provincial seed inspection centre. 15 participants for 3 days, no. of training
– 1.
iii. Training workshop on cereal seed multiplication. Participants from the 3 farms and provincial seed
inspection centre under the project. 15 participants for 3 days, no. of training – 1.
iv. Two training workshop on vegetable seed production including hybrid seed production of
vegetables using handouts prepared in advance in consultation with CTA and IC – Vegetable
Seed Production. Two trainings of 5 days duration with 15 participants from seed farms and
provincial seed inspection centre in each training.
v. Training workshop on seed quality control (field inspection and seed testing).
Participants 15 for 5 days. Participants from the 3 farms and provincial seed inspection centre
under the project.
vi. Training Workshop to strengthen counterpart capacity to implement selected project components.
vii. Two training workshops on maintenance breeding and breeders seed production of cereals and
vegetable seeds using handouts prepared in advance in consultation with CTA and IC – Plant
Breeder. Two trainings of 5 days duration with 15 participants from seed farms and provincial
seed inspection centre in each training.
viii. Two training workshops on cereals seed production (foundation and certified seed) using
handouts prepared in advance in consultation with CTA and IC – Cereal Seed Production. Two
trainings of 5 days duration with 15 participants from seed farms and provincial seed inspection
centre in each training.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
25
ix. Two training workshop on vegetable seed production including hybrid seed production of
vegetables using handouts prepared in advance in consultation with CTA and IC – Vegetable
Seed Production. Two trainings of 5 days duration with 15 participants from seed farms and
provincial seed inspection centre in each training.
x. Two training workshops on field inspection and seed testing of cereals, vegetables and others
crops in collaboration with central seed inspection centre using handouts prepared in advance in
consultation with CTA and NPD. Four trainings of 5 days duration with 15 participants from seed
farms and provincial seed inspection centre in each training.
xi. Farmer's field days were organized on farmers' field demonstrations supported by project.
Roughly 50 farmers/cooperative farm staffs participated in each field day.
a. Agricultural Extension: Farmers can master new technologies, whether it is vegetable production
or seed production, provided the methodology of training is learning by doing. The project in
collaboration and coordination of relevant Departments conducted a series of trainings.
b. Farmers’ Field Days (FFDs): FFDs were conducted to convince invited farmers and to provide
them with an opportunity of seeing the results of new practices, demonstration of skills, proper use of
irrigation water, etc., and to give them an idea regarding the suitability and application of these
practices in their own fields. FFDs were carried out at cooperative farm level. Accordingly, farmers
and staffs from the neighbouring cooperative farms visited the cooperative farms supported by the
project.
c. Trainings: There was and still remain a significant gap between the “high-tech” operations of the
assistance community and a “no-tech” mode of operation on the ground. To fill the gap as far as
possible, the project carried out some practical oriented trainings on actual need basis. Trainings
were mainly based on the practical principles of learning by doing. Beneficiaries were encouraged to
learn new things by doing themselves and by direct participation. Learning by doing was most
effective in changing the beneficiaries‟ behaviour and developing the confidence to use the new
methods in future. Beneficiaries were encouraged to learn what to do, why to do, how to do and with
what results.
d. Study Tours:
i. Study tour for understanding seed management system and collecting information on modern
seed technology was organized during May 21 – June 09, 2012. The study tour was organized in
conjunction with the Center of International Cooperation Service, MoA of the People‟s Republic of
China, and Institute of Food and Production Development, Kasetsart University Thailand. The
participants consisted of 7 members from the project farms, Pyongyang Agricultural Campus and
concerned officers.
ii. Study tour to acquaint with the multi crop seed programme planning, seed production techniques
for breeder, foundation and certified seed including post harvest handling of seed was organized
during Dec. 26, 2012 to Jan. 14, 2013 in conjunction with the Indian Agricultural Research
Institute New Delhi, India. The participants consisted of 7 members from the project farms,
Pyongyang Agricultural Campus and concerned officers.
iii. Study tour to learn techniques of seed certification and seed quality control system including field
inspection procedures, seed testing techniques including seed health testing for 4 staff of Central
and provincial Seed Inspection Centers for 3 weeks was cancelled as advised by resource
partner – UNDP. Study tour became no-go area for UNDP funded projects.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
26
e. Major Reports/Publications:
i. Consultancy Report, 31 pages by Dr. Hari Har Ram, International Consultant – Vegetable Seed
Production, April 08-30, 2012.
ii. Seed Production of Major Vegetable Crops, Principles and Practices, 75 pages by Dr. Hari Har
Ram.
iii. Consultancy Report, 32 pages by Dr. Ram C. Chaudhary, International Consultant – Plant
Breeder, Aug. 05 – 28, 2012.
iv. Maintenance Breeding & Breeder Seed Production in Rice, 12 pages by Dr. Ram C. Chaudhary.
v. Consultancy Report, 92 pages by Dr. N. S. Tunwar, International Consultant – Cereal Seed
Production, Sep. 16 – Oct. 26, 2012.
vi. Maize Breeding and Seed Production Manual, 97 pages by Mr. Bir C. Mandal, CTA, DRK/10/004
and DRK/10/005 projects, FAO DPR Korea.
C.13. Meetings of the Committees: The following meetings were held on need basis until the
completion of the project to carry out the project‟s activities smoothly, nicely and transparently:
i. Local Procurement Committee (LPC),
ii. Technical Working Group (TWG) mainly among concerned staff members of the MoA, AAS and
PAC mainly to discuss technical issues and plan, and
iii. Seed & PHL Consultations Meeting/Discussion with FAO Bangkok mainly through Skype.
C.14. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E): The Project‟s Logical Framework Matrix and Operational
Work Plan have been providing time-bound, performance and impact indicators for project
implementation along with their corresponding means of verification. In line with the FAO and UNDP
policy and procedures, monitoring has been done at cooperative farm levels. Six monthly and annual
reports have been sent to the resource partner – UNDP, FAO Representation, FAO RAP Bangkok
and FAO TCSR Rome. The evaluation has brought the achievements against the set target. It has
identified the bottlenecks and possibility of rectification mainly through brainstorming meetings with
UNDP and MoA.
In order to maximize the benefits from the Project, the lessons learned and „good practices‟
developed in seed sector in the project sites were captured and made available to support related
developmental programmes and activities in neighbour counties.
Team Leader, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Programme Analyst, UNDP; Lead Technical Officer,
FAO Bangkok; Coordinator, National Committee for FAO; and National Project Director (NPD) visited
project‟s activities at cooperative farm levels. In addition, Chief Technical Advisor, Assistant FAOR,
Operations Assistant and National Project Coordinator (NPC) visited fields and met concerned staff
members very frequently on need basis. Project staff never faced problems to visit field whenever
need arose.
C.14.1. Evaluation of Seed and Post-harvest Projects: An evaluation of Seed and Post-harvest
projects by an external independent International Consultant was carried out during 27th March to 30
th
April 2014. Work on this evaluation was carried out in two segments: i. a two week field mission to the
Democratic People´s Republic of Korea between 27 March and 10 April 2014, which included
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
27
meetings in Pyongyang and field visits to six project sites, and ii. desk work for document review and
report writing during the second half of April 2014. The Consultant prepared very precise and
informative Evaluation Report of 69 pages. The relevant conclusions of the report are quoted below:
Quote:
Conclusions: Well designed and executed development assistance in support of improved seed and
post harvest management has the potential to make a very significant difference in the quest towards
achieving sustainable food and nutrition security for the people of the Democratic People´s Republic of
Korea.
The country´s national food balance sheet indicates that the domestic food supply is 340,000 mt below
the anticipated demand during the 2013/2014 marketing year. Given an estimated domestic staple
food production of 5.04 million mt, the deficit is important, but nevertheless not at level that would
make it impossible to reach self-sufficiency. Reaching the national self-sufficiency goal in the DPRK is
however contingent to productivity increases as the available cropping area can´t be expanded much
further.
Better quality seed of improved varieties, made available in sufficient quantities, allows cooperative
farmers to produce on the same surface significantly increased amounts of staple food crops with a
similar level of inputs. Innovation in seed breeding and multiplication is therefore a clear sectoral
priority in DPRK, along with better farming techniques as well as policies to boost double cropping and
improvements in potato and soybean farming.
The “Improved Seed Production for Sustainable Agriculture” project concentrated its support to the
seed sector in DPRK via three seed farms that produce seed of both, staple food and vegetable crops.
Project outputs are a combination of capacity building efforts and the introduction of improved
equipments, which are expected to result in quantitative as well as qualitative advances of the seed
production.
Evaluation findings show that both projects progressed in general satisfactorily towards the delivery of
the planned outputs despite the recorded delays during start-up and parts of 2013, when financial
transaction problems forced the project to put certain activities temporarily on hold. Challenges, in part
caused by weaknesses in project design and the limited availability of data, are mainly related to
monitoring and reporting. Unquote
C.15. Relevant Cross-Cutting Issues: The project has been receiving all-out support from all
concerned Departments of GoDPRK. This is due to most needed support provided by the project, but
is also linked to the presence of respected, well mannered, cooperative and considerate project staffs.
The project paid particular attention to the special needs and vulnerability of women and children
mainly through vegetable and beans production to enhance their nutritional security. The project
provided a strong social support to work teams of cooperative farms (encouraging women to
participate as much as possible in traininig and technical discussion) and to implement a non-
discriminatory approach. Total direct beneficiaries are 10,416 cooperative farmers (Male: 4,848 =
46.54%; Female: 5,568 = 53.45%).
C.16. Project Economic Benefits and Sustainability: It is widely believed that even without any
improvement in the development of higher yielding varieties, it is expected that use of Certified Seed
of the same varieties could increase production by at least 10 %. Seeds were distributed through this in
the area sown under old and traditional varieties. Yield in these areas, is assumed to have declined
considerably over the years due to constant use of seeds of old and degenerated varieties. Thus, there
will be added advantage of at least 20 % simply by the replacement of the old varieties with the new
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
28
ones. Both the increases are additive. That means an expected advantage of increasing the
production of food crops will be to the tune of at least 30% by the end of the project in project target
areas.
Impacts in terms of area in ha and yield increase in tones:
i. Total area for seed production under project: Paddy: 577 + Non-paddy (maize): 422 = 999 ha
ii. Average yield as per CFSAM 2013 report: Paddy: 5.3 t/ha, and maize: 3.79 t/ha
iii. Estimated seed production: Paddy: 3,058 t, and maize: 1,599 t
iv. Estimated planted area: Paddy: 30,580 (seed rate: 100 kg/ha) and maize: 53,300 (seed rate: 30
kg/ha)
v. Average additional yield from improved seed:
a. Estimated yield from improved seeds: Roughly 20 % more than average yield; 20 % of 5.3 =
1.06 t, 20 % of 3.79 = 0.75 t
b. Additional yield: 30,580 x 1.06 = 32,414 t paddy = 21,393 t rice /year (paddy to rice conversion:
66 %); maize: 53,300 x 0.75 = 39,975 t/year
vi. So, roughly adding 61,368 t cereal/year = cereal for 292,228 persons for 1 year (210
kg/person/yr)
vii. Minimum additional yield from improved seed: Min. 10 % more than average yield = 30,684 t.
cereal adding /year = cereal for 146,114 persons for 1 year.
However, yield of improved seeds start to decrease after 3-4 years if seeds are not well maintained.
So, seed development needs to continue with increasing seed replacement ratio.
Based on the above analysis and assumptions, it could be safely concluded that cost benefit ratio has
been highly favourable.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
29
D. Project Outline and Results
Overall Project Objective: CFSAM 2013 report indicates that there is almost gap of approximately
340,000 ton food grain between production and requirement. Immediate increase in food production
to achieve self sufficiency in food is a national priority. There are time- tested robust approaches
available to boost the production and productivity of food crops or for that matter any crop be it fruits
or vegetables or something else. Increase in production could be achieved either through increase in
the cultivable area popularly called horizontal increase or increase in yield/unit area known as vertical
increase. In simple terms, one can increase the area of the crop; however, this option is no more
available in DPRK. The only option left is increase in the crop productivity.
UN Strategic Framework (UNSF) Strategic Priority Area: Area 3: Nutrition
UNSF Outcome(s):
1: Improved Nutritional Status of targeted populations to enable them to lead healthy lives;
2: Sustained Household food Security.
Expected CP Outcome(s): Increased access of people to diversified range of foods as well as
farmers‟ increasing agriculture diversification and productivity.
CP Outputs: 1.1. Agriculture production and diversification strengthened through integrated farming;
increase in urban vegetable and potato cultivation and enhancing seed production.
Expected Project Output(s):
1. Standard technologies and management in seed production and processing introduced in project
farms;
2. Seed quality control system improved; and
3. Seed policy and ordinance issues addressed.
Food security is heavily dependent on seed security. In fact, seed security precedes food security.
Importance of seed as a major input and as an important vehicle to increase food production in the
country is well recognised. The essence of any seed programme consists in quality control and seed
is different from grain only if certain qualities, which are important from the point of view of genetic
purity, are preserved carefully.
Seed Project activities are very well linked to the national development goal. Thus, technological
interventions through introduction of improved cultivars and quality seed production of food crops
including vegetable remains the core issue of the project. The introduction clearly lays the premise
that underlying solution lies more in introduction of superior cultivars/hybrids of cereal crops and
making their seed available to end users in required quality and quantity. The impact of breeding and
seed distribution technology has been amply demonstrated world over in the past particularly
heralding in green revolution in South-east Asia and middle East and it will be no different in DPRK.
Project Locations:
i. Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang (cereals),
ii. Daesong Certified Seed Farm, Sukchon county, South Pyongan Province (cereals),
iii. Up Seed Multiplication Farm, Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province (vegetables), and
iv. South Pyongan Province Seed Inspection Centre.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
30
D. Performance Assessment
D.1. Achievement of Results
Results Chain Indicators Baseline End Target (expected
value at project
completion)
Achiev
ed
If not
achiev
ed
explain
why
If
applicabl
e/follow
up action
to be
taken
Impact: The
priority # 1 of the
CPF:
Strengthening
national food
and nutritional
security.
Project
Outcome
Output (1) Seed
policy and seed
ordinance issues
addressed and
capacity
enhanced in
planning,
implementation
and monitoring
seed
programmes.
- Approval
and
adoption
National
agriculture-
first policy
and
relevant
ordnance.
Policy
needing
review
and
revision.
i. Study Seed Policy
and prepared Seed
Guidelines for field
staff;
ii. Give priority on its
implementation.
iv. Support in the
preparation of seed
development
priorities and plans
for DPRK.
v. Raise awareness
on National
agriculture-first policy
at different forums.
Achiev
ed: 90 -
95 %.
No
need to
change
Seed
Policy,
rather
its
implem
entatio
n is
require
d.
Seed
Guideline
s
including
names of
improved
varieties
for field
staff is a
living
documen
t.
Output (2)
Appropriate
technology in
seed production,
processing,
quality control
introduced.
Basic
technology
for seed
production
in use.
Rudiment
ary
technolo
gy that is
inefficient
and
needs
replacem
ent
efficient
knowledg
e and
practices
i. Field International
Consultants on
Vegetable Seed
Production,
Maintenance
Breeding & Breeder
Seed Production, and
Cereal Seed
Multiplication & Seed
Quality Control.
ii. Three „study tours
on seed‟ carried out
in China & Thailand,
India, and Vietnam.
iii. Carry out required
trainings on seed by
International and
National Consultants,
90-95
%
One
study
tour
was
not
carried
out
since
study
tour
becam
e no-go
area
for
UNDP
funded
project
s.
Should
continue
with the
support
of FAO,
EUPS
Units and
GoDPRK
.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
31
CTA and National
Project Coordinator.
Output (3)
Enhanced
capacity of
farmers in seed
conditioning,
seed certification
for relevant farm
mangers and
extension staff
through hands-
on use of model
seed cleaning
equipment and
seed testing
facilities, and
through training
and study tours.
Availability
of know-
how and
skills
among
farmers
and farm
managers
for
managing
good seed
programme
.
- Weak
capacity
among
farmers
and farm
manager;
-
Provincia
l seed
inspectio
n centres
not
adequate
ly
equipped
. Seed
and field
standard
s set for
seed
certificati
on to be
establish
ed.
- Prepare Seed
testing guidelines
prepared.
- Model facilities for
seed storage,
production, drying,
cleaning and testing
established.
- Procurement and
installation of
equipments/machiner
ies carried out.
- Technical staffs
trained on use of
equipments/machiner
ies including seed
processing and seed
testing.
- Seed production
guidelines prepared.
- Carried out
altogether 10
trainings at
cooperative farm,
county and
Pyongyang levels.
- Prepared manual on
“Maize Breeding and
Seed Production”.
90 – 95
%
Not
applica
ble.
-do-
Output 4:
Farmer‟s
awareness
raised in using
quality seeds,
certified seed of
improved
varieties; and
exposure to
regional
experience in
seed production
systems for rice
and vegetables.
Upgraded
skills of
researcher
s,
professiona
ls and
technicians
engaged in
planning of
seed
production,
maintenanc
e of
varieties,
seed
multiplicati
on and
seed
conditionin
g.
Low
awarene
ss levels
of the
criticality
of high
quality
seeds
and good
varieties
to
increase
productivi
ty.
- Carryout field
demonstrations and
brief and train
partners in provinces
on field days.
- Develop literature
and awareness
material for field days
(in Korean).
- Arrange seed,
fertilizers and other
material and
equipment needed
for demonstrations.
- Secure feedback
from cooperative
farmers.
- Organize
continuation of field
demonstrations
through national
95-99
%.
Not
applica
ble.
-do-
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
32
extension agencies.
1 2 3 N/A
Extent to which a contribution to Impact has been made X
Provide a small narrative text to support the scoring: The relevant text of the „Evaluation Report,
April 2014‟ is quoted. Quote: With a view to accelerate progress towards universal and national
development goals, the two evaluated projects focus on contributing to “Nutrition and Food
Security”, which is also one of four United Nations Strategic Framework (2011-2015) MDG-based
priority areas in DPRK. The UNSF (2011-2015) aims at achieving two outcomes for nutrition,
namely:
i. Improved nutritional status of targeted population to enable them to lead healthy lives, and
ii. Sustained household level food security.
Unquote
Extent to which the expected outputs have been delivered X
Provide a small narrative text to support the scoring: The Ministry of Agriculture highly praised the
works of both Seed and Post-harvest projects during 4th Project Board meeting held on 29
th May
2014 and requested to FAO and UNDP to continue these two projects. In addition, Mr. Jon In
Chan, Deputy Secretary General, DPRK National Coordination Committee (NCC) also highly
praised the performance of particularly seed and PHL projects while meeting with ADG/Regional
Representative, FAO RAP Bangkok on 25th March 2014 in Pyongyang. Ultimately, credit goes to all
concerned staff members. These two projects are headed by the same Chief Technical Advisor.
Extent to which outcome has been achieved / X / / /
Provide a small narrative text to support the scoring:
Major Constraints/challenges:
i. Serious money transaction problem since mid- March 2014;
ii. Meeting specific procurement rules and the export license requirements particularly for
UNDP funded projects is very much time consuming;
iii. Difficult logistics and very high costs of forwarding goods to DPRK; and
iv. Linkage with International Organizations is weak to keep pace with the latest developments
in agriculture.
Despite above constraints, the outcome so far achieved (considered progress towards indicator
targets at outcome level, extent to which outputs are being delivered, assumptions, risks and the
external environment) is very satisfactory.
Overall results achievement rating / X / / /
Score Meaning
1 Performance is good
2 Performance is problematic.
Corrective action needed
3 Performance presents
deficiencies.
Major corrective action,
reorientation or early termination
required
D.2. Relevance
a. Quality of design and relevance to problem that was to be solved through the project: In
DPRK context, the quality of design and relevance to problem that was to be solved through the
project was okay. However, the Results and Resources Framework in the Project Document included
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
33
output baselines, indicators and targets that were to a large degree not measureable and not
sufficiently specific.
The relevant text of the “Evaluation Report, April 2014” is quoted. Quote: Individually stated project
objectives were furthermore generally believed to be realistic and achievable during a 3-year
implementation period on the foreseen number of demonstration / pilot cooperative farms. However,
to make full use of realized benefits and up-scale project achievements from the current pilot level to
a larger geographic area or even national scale, additional resources will be required. Optimal longer-
term results will to a large degree depend on the right mix of capacity building, improved infrastructure
and availability of better equipment. Unquote
b. Alignment and strategic fit (CPF outcome/UNDAF outcome/national priority/Organizational
Result/synergy with other interventions): The relevant text of the “Evaluation Report, April 2014” is
quoted.
Quote: “Improved Seed Production for Sustainable Agriculture” and “Reduction of Post-Harvest
Losses for Food Security” are two key projects of the “Food security and Rural Development”
component of the UNDP Country Programme (CPC). UNDP`s country programme document for the
Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea (2011-2015), prepared in close consultation with all
stakeholders including relevant ministries, research institutions, donors and United Nations agencies,
reflects the agreement on the United Nations Strategic Framework (2011-2015) between the
Government and the United Nations country team.
Through the two evaluated projects the CPC supports the Government in achieving its 2015
National Development Goal One to “Improve the Living Standard of People” and
underlying target of “Ensuring Food Security” in line with the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs).
With a view to accelerate progress towards universal and national development goals, the two
evaluated projects focus on contributing to “Nutrition and Food Security”, which is also one of four
United Nations Strategic Framework (2011-2015) MDG-based priority areas in DPRK. The UNSF
(2011-2015) aims at achieving two outcomes for nutrition, namely:
Improved nutritional status of targeted population to enable them to lead healthy lives, and,
Sustained household level food security.
Aggregate farm production in DPRK is estimated to have increased for the third consecutive year and
exceed 5 million mt for the second year in a row in 2013, bringing the country closest to sufficiency in
almost two decades. Despite this improvement, major challenges remain to reaching the food
production level of over 6 million mt achieved in the late 1980s through cooperation within the former
Soviet Union trading arrangements.
In addition to geographical and climatic constraints2, production is currently mainly limited by
agricultural input shortages (improved seed varieties of adequate quality, lime, pesticides,
plastic sheeting3, adequate supply of plant nutrients through the application of different
chemical fertilizers and organic matter, etc.),
the degree of mechanization4,
2 The major portion of the country is rugged mountain terrain with little scope for increasing cereal
production by expanding farming into new areas. Arable land is limited to about 19.5% of the total landmass (Source: FAO, 2012). 3 The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) has the potential of increasing yields by over 20 percent but
is coupled with the use of plastic trays for planting the rice seedlings.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
34
a departure from sound agricultural techniques (adequate crop rotation5, soil conservation
6,
timeliness of harvesting and threshing processes7, etc.) and
the level of incentives for stimulating increased production and productivity (including for
example the comparatively low price level for soybean, uncertainties linked to labour
investments into activities that will only produce benefits in subsequent years, such as longer
term measures to improve soil quality, etc.).
Over the years, domestic production of fertilizer has declined to a level of about 10 percent of total
requirement8, increasing dependence on imported fertilizer, reducing its overall use and creating
imbalances in the applied mix of plant nutrients (including a very low application rate of phosphate
and potassium9). The foreign exchange situation combined with international restrictions on trade has,
on the other hand, not allowed adequate commercial imports of much needed agricultural inputs such
as fertilizer10
, pesticides, plastic sheeting, spare- parts for machinery, tyres for tractors and trucks and
fuel. Much needed lime application to improve fertility of acidic soils11
, although improved lately, is
constrained by the lack of transport facilities and fuel availability. Leguminous crops (soybean, mung
bean, etc.) have been identified for many years as an essential addition to the DPRK crop mix, but to
date, have not been planted at an adequate level.
Considering its developmental needs and priorities the DPRK Government set the following sectoral
policies:
innovation in breeding and seed multiplication,
double cropping,
improvement in potato farming,
improvement in soybean farming and
active introduction of advanced farming systems (including organic farming),
and identified in 2012 the following five governmental strategic objectives in the food and agriculture
sector:
Priority A: Strengthening national food and nutritional security,
Priority B: Improving natural resource management,
Priority C: Improved rural livelihood,
Priority D: Improved mitigation of the impact of climate change on agriculture and improved
disaster management, and,
4 Using better seeding equipment has the potential to increase yields by around 10 percent because
of better germination and appropriate spacing between each plant. Lack of tractor power makes land preparation slow and difficult, thus impeding the use of off-season manures or of double cropping. 5 Rotating cereal crops (especially maize and wheat) with legumes such as soy or green manure
could potentially increase yields by around 10 percent 6 Conservation agriculture (low tillage farming) can reduce soil erosion, save fuel, and improve soil
quality 7 Improved timing of harvesting and threshing processes importantly reduces post harvest losses
8 Source: FAO/WFP, 2013 Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) Report. More
recent reports published between January and April 2014 underline significant capacity increases to produce fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides and plastic sheeting domestically at the Namhung Youth Chemical Complex. 9 Source: “The State of North Korean Farming: New Information from the UN Crop Assessment
Report”, background analysis by Randall Ireson, 18 December 2013 10
In 2013 DPRK bought a total of 207,334 mt of fertilizers from China, down by 18 percent from the previous year, according to news reports (Source: Yonhap News Agency report of 4 March 2014). Significant import increases were recorded for January 2014 when the country imported 35,113 mt of fertilizer from China according to data by the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI). 11
Applying lime to the fields to offset acid soils has the potential to increase yields by more than 20 percent
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
35
Priority E: Improvement in institutional capacity for agricultural research, extension and
administration.
Both, the “Improved Seed Production for Sustainable Agriculture” and the “Reduction of Post-Harvest
Losses for Food Security” projects are fully in line with these priorities and specifically contribute to
the intended
Outcome A1 (Increased food production) and
Outcome A2 (reduced food loss in production and supply chains), as well as the defined
Priority Output A1-1 (Enhanced capacity of seed farms to introduce superior varieties)” and
Priority Output A2-1 (Best practices for reduced on-farm post-harvest-loss developed)
of the “Country Programming Framework (CPF) 2012-2015 for The Cooperation and Partnership
Between FAO and the Government of the Democratic People´s Republic of Korea”.
The Government of the Democratic People´s Republic of Korea has since the adoption of the above
framework continued to highlight the key importance it gives to the agriculture sector in its strive to
rapidly and sustainably improve national food security and eventually reach food self-sufficiency. In
his New Year Address 2014, as well as his message delivered during DPRK´s first national
conference of farm sub-work team leaders12
Mr. Kim Jong Un, Supreme Leader of the DPR Korean
people, in fact underlined, that agriculture needed to be defined as the priority area for improving the
economy and people‟s lives in DPRK. At this occasion the Supreme Leader personally emphasized
details of DPRK farming policies, including a specific call to implement a seed revolution, identifying
short growing periods, efficient uptake of available fertilizer and pest resistance as key criteria for the
development of improved crop seeds in DPRK.
Unquote
Food security is heavily dependent on seed security. In fact, seed security precedes food security.
Importance of seed as a major input and as an important vehicle to increase food production in the
country is well recognised.
Considering above circumstances, the project was very much aligned with the outcomes of CPF,
UNDAF and other interventions.
D.3. Sustainability
Dimensions of sustainability: Key steps taken to ensure the sustainability of the project interventions
included: i. involvement of communities in the planning and design of interventions; ii. an assessment
of community environment and capacity to ensure local ownership, motivation to maintain and
operate facilities, resources and assets created with project support; iii. coordinated capacity building
and participatory process to strengthen the involvement of cooperative farmers, and national
government institutions; iv. ensuring community contributions and investments in project components
costs, i.e., through community cost sharing arrangements and local resources mobilisation; v.
effective training and capacity building to provide communities with on-going maintenance related
technical and managerial skills; and vi. ensuring that interventions are inclusive, i.e., participation of
the poor and marginalized groups, women.
The project‟s contributions in terms of asset creation, increased local capacities, access to new
technologies, and established linkages and partnerships provided incentives to the stakeholders and
created strong foundation for sustaining benefits of interventions in the long term and potential for
replication.
12
First national conference of farm sub-work team leaders in Pyongyang on 6-7 February 2014
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
36
D.3.1. Financial Sustainability: The project improved food security and nutrition for 10,416
cooperative farmers (Male: 4,848 = 46.54%; Female: 5,568 = 53.45%) in 6 demonstration farms and
helped them to escape from being trapped deeper into poverty. The quantified economic benefits are
cost savings consisting of reduction in out-of-pocket household expenses resulting from avoided
health costs. These occur, based on the assumption that poor households are more vulnerable to
illness because of their poor living conditions and inappropriate diets leading to malnutrition. The
analysis does not attempt to quantify economic gains and only provides conservative estimates based
on benefits streams that can be quantified. Commercially-viable activities are, by definition
sustainable beyond the end of the Project.
D.3.2. Institutional Sustainability: The project had the following built-in features to ensure
institutional sustainability:
i. Support to the government priority aimed at promoting longer-term seed development;
ii. Improved capacity in targeting and delivering seed development interventions;
iii. Strengthening community-based approaches for promoting household food security and nutrition
providing better access of poor households to food in the medium terms through additional food
production; and
iv. Holding continuous policy dialogue with the relevant government on integrating innovative
approaches for seed development into national policies and programmes and priorities to ensure
that capacities gained are embedded within the government‟s core approach and system and the
lessons learned are replicated by the government with greater effectiveness and efficiency
ensuring sustainability of impact.
The Government institutions, particularly MoA, PAC and AAS worked together from the formulation,
and implementation of the action until achieving the expected results. Government institutions were
better equipped with analytical tools and methodologies (like seed quality test and multiplication of
only quality seeds for seed purpose, SRI, etc) to develop and implement more focused and
responsive programmes. The cooperative farms by participating from the formulation of the action
until achieving the expected results developed a sense of ownership. The capacity building activities
including abroad study tours helped them to develop their internal capacity and institutional strength
and ensured sustainability. The above mentioned stakeholders are expected to scale up the outcome
of this project to other areas in the country. Through working to strengthen the capacity of support
service institutions and government counterparts, the project left behind not only viable community
and household assets and more effective and responsive service provisions but also improved
technical and managerial capability to sustain these improvements.
D.3.3. Policy Level Sustainability: The success of this project had a positive influence in the
development of the Seed Guidelines at the field level in the country since the key ministries
responsible for agricultural development and improving nutrition were stakeholders of this project. A
good example is the positive result achieved by project which contributed to the formulation of a
„Guidelines for Seed Production and Quality Control‟ at field level.
D.3.4. Environmental Sustainability: Project focused on „environmentally friendly technology‟.
Project used technological systems that served agricultural producers, processors and consumers as
well as the environment. Implementation of SRI as demonstration though in small scale supported
environmental sustainability. Cooperative farmers were convinced on the results of SRI, accordingly
environmental sustainability will be ensured even after the completion of the project.
D.3.5. Social Sustainability: Involving cooperative farmers with equal scope of participation for
individuals from planning to execution of the project activities fostered a sense of ownership and
social harmony, an important precondition for social sustainability of the project.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
37
D.4 Implementation
Implementation Score
1 2 3
Work-plan and budget
To what extent were activities implemented on time? X
Comments, if any: Serious money transaction problem occurred during April – August 2013 and
mid March – mid September 2014. April to October is the main period for agricultural field activities.
Procurements of expensive farm inputs, equipments, machineries and development of infrastructure
in countryside were kept on hold. It had significant negative impacts on project‟s delivery on time.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
38
E. FOLLOW-UP ACTIONS
What concrete follow-up actions are foreseen/are taking place if any and by whom?
Please indicate in order of priority
Responsi
bility
(name,
Institution
)
Additional
resources
required, if
any
Status and contribution to sustainability of project results
FAO and
MoA
FAO approved
US$ 469,000
for a TCP
project -
“Farmer
Participatory
Seed
Multiplication
and Post
Harvest
Management”
TCP project may start soon.
Seed and Post-harvest projects funded by UNDP were completed on
31st October 2014. Many positive things have been happening in
seed and post-harvest sectors in the DPR Korea. However, these
successes are not enough, there is still a long way to go particularly
in the fields of seed quality, protected cultivation, post-harvest
management mainly through proper threshing and drying, and
capacity building. The GoDPRK and FAO DPR Korea would have not
been in a position to carry out these most needed activities related to
seed production and post-harvest management after 31st October
2014 in case this TCP project would have not been approved on time.
In order to carry forward the efforts of Seed and Post-harvest projects
funded by UNDP to a logical conclusion and also to provide a basis
for sustainability as well as a good exit strategy for both the donor
However, project managed somehow to procure less expensive but urgently required farm inputs
and continued activities related to capacity building.
During the period of money transaction problem, particularly MoA played a vital role to convince the
suppliers/contractors to keep patience for the payment. In addition, FAO China supported a lot to
procure required items from China.
To what extent were activities implemented within planned budget? X
Comments, if any: In general, expenditures were made according to approved limits under
different budget groupings expect very minor increase on construction of farm structures and
machineries from the saving under training subheading as approved by Project Board, comprised of
representative from FAO, MoA and resource partner – UNDP. All trainings were carried out as per
project target, but the numbers of trainees per training were decreased.
Risk Management
To what extent has the risk management matrix been thoroughly assessed
and updated? (self assessment)
X
Comments, if any: The risk management matrix was thoroughly assessed and updated and it
certainly helped to some extent, but didn‟t solve all the problems. All the required documents,
namely technical specifications of the inputs, clearance of the technical specifications from the LTO,
etc. were kept ready and once the money transaction problem was solved the delivery of the project
was very fast.
Overall Implementation rating X
Comments, if any: Considering 2 times (altogether 11 months) serious money transaction
problems and achievements during the project period against the targets, ground realities observed
during field visits, database available at cooperative farms and findings of independent Evaluation
Mission, it could be safely concluded that cooperative approach through various activities relating to
seed though had very few shortfalls, was a right strategy to achieve the objective of cooperative-led
development processes aimed at rebuilding capacities and meeting the needs of disadvantaged
cooperative farmers.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
39
and FAO, this TCP project was designed to address the remaining
critical gaps. The TCP project will not repeat or duplicate what has
already been achieved in the projects funded by others.
Considering above circumstances, the Secretary General, DPRK
National Committee (NC) for FAO, kindly requested FAO to approve
this TCP project as soon as possible. In addition, NC kindly
requested to give the first priority to this TCP project. The project will
concentrate its support to the seed sector in project areas via 6
cooperative farms that produce certified seed of both, staple food and
vegetable crops. Project outputs will be a combination of capacity
building efforts and the introduction of improved equipment, which are
expected to result in quantitative as well as qualitative advances of
the seed production.
F. LESSONS LEARNED
F.1. Lessons Learned – Elements of Success:
i. Strategy: The project practiced „Triangle Approach‟ which was very successful in many
developing countries including DPRK. Triangle Approach means three angles were composed of
International Organizations (FAO, EUPS Units and Donor), concerned Government Departments
(Local Authority and Technical Departments) and Community (cooperative farmers).
ii. The major impact lessons learned were that i. The strategy should be one of individual
empowerment for high impact livelihoods, e.g. seed multiplication of improved varieties,
construction of threshing cum drying floor, etc. (affecting many people and or large areas of land)
through Work Teams of cooperative farms.
iii. It was better to focus on high impact Work Teams (near a river, dam, small town, etc) especially
for seed production.
iv. In order to maximize the benefits from the Project, the lessons learned and „good practices‟
developed in seed sector in the project sites were captured and made available to support seed
sector in other counties. It occurred through periodic local level discussion forums namely
technical working group, agriculture and food security thematic group, nutrition thematic group,
and national level discussion forums namely training and workshops with other stakeholders
involved in agricultural development.
v. Technical Working Group meetings, composed of FAO and concerned technical staff from MoA,
PAC and AAS were held on need basis. However, the minutes of the meetings were not prepared
intentionally to have free and frank technical discussion.
vi. Project used to give a copy of agendas for Project Board meeting to all concerned government
officials in advance and also used to discuss informally before Project Board meeting to expedite
its approval during the official meeting and it used to work very well. Project faced far less
difficulties than other agencies probably due to transparency of work and working closely with
technical line Departments.
vii. Bottom-up approach is good for field activities, while sometime top-down approach is good to
convince the Local Authority.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
40
viii. The CTA of the Project was invited by FAO RAP Bangkok to participate in “Regional Consultation
on Improving Wheat Productivity in Asia” held in Bangkok during April 26-27, 2012. The
expenditure for this regional consultation was not debited to the Project, rather it was paid by the
organizer – FAO RAP. In addition, CTA also attended other workshop and brainstorming
meetings organized by FAO, sister UN Agencies, and EUPS Units at Pyongyang level. This
helped to share latest technologies or findings based on field experiences among concerned staff
members.
F.2. Lessons Learned – Impediments/Constraints:
i. Meeting specific procurement rules and the export license requirements was time consuming.
ii. Difficult logistics and very high costs of forwarding goods to DPRK.
iii. Quarterly physical verifications of the farm equipments/machineries by the resource partner were
time consuming and it used to disturb field activities particularly during period of peak field
activities. Sometime cooperative farmers and cooperative staffs used to be very disappointed with
this activity.
G. RECOMMENDATIONS
G.1. Seed Production:
i. Considering the given conditions, the seed production activities at all three seed farms are very
impressive but need more infrastructural support in the form of farm machineries, seed
processing equipment, seed threshing-cum-drying floors and seed stores.
ii. The production of various classes of seed relies on the research academy and cooperative seed
farms, both involved in an integrated seed production chain. There are three recognized classes
of seed under seed-generation control system i.e. Breeder Seed (BS), Foundation Seed (FS) and
Certified Seed (CS). To ensure quality and quantity of seed it is necessary that the seed
generation chain is followed without any significant deviation by all concerned.
iii. Seeds cannot be produced over-night. Therefore, to maintain a continuous flow of seed a strong
coordination between Academy of Agricultural Sciences (AAS) and seed farms is necessary to
avoid cycle of shortages or glut.
iv. Breeder seed forms the basis of all further seed production arrangements. It is the availability of pure
breeder seed of a variety that starts the introduction to the public of the results of research and
transmits the increase in agricultural productivity to the economy. Therefore, AAS should pay utmost
attention to maintain the quality of breeder seed.
v. It is readily and conveniently assumed that the seed which comes from AAS research institutes
must necessarily be pure and of high quality. This would be so, if adequate facilities are available and if
proper seed production techniques were followed. Under existing situation it appears that the breeder
seed programme also needs strengthening.
vi. Next in importance to the purity of the breeder seed is the purity of the foundation seed and its
availability in adequate quantities. The production and distribution of foundation seed are
important aspects of seed programme as they determine the volume of high quality certified seed that
would be available to the farmers at more than 3,500 cooperative farms. The foundation seed
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
41
should be subjected to rigorous inspection by Central/Provincial Seed Inspection officials. Care
should be taken to maintain the quality of the seed-material at field level, during the seed
production stage, during processing and storage. Similarly practice of multiplication of foundation
seed from foundation seed till it looks fine should also be discouraged.
vii. The term 'certified seed production' is widely used to denote the production of commercial seed at 240
cooperative certified seed farms which is handed over to the other cooperative farms for raising crops. It
should be ensured that it is available in pure condition and in adequate quantities and certified by
independent seed certifying agency.
G.2. Boosting production through increased cropping intensity and increased productivity:
i. Based on the performance of the current rice hybrid varieties it appears that yield potential of
hybrid varieties is better than non hybrid varieties. To increase the national yield average and total
grain production it is necessary to bring more area under high yielding hybrid rice varieties. It
would need increase in the technical and infrastructural capabilities of the involved institutions.
ii. Introduction of short duration, photo insensitive and cold tolerant hybrid varieties of maize in
combination with wheat and barley could increase the cropping intensity to 200% and, thus, more
food production. Efforts are required to be made to procure genetic material of maize from such
places which grow maize at higher altitude and in cold areas to identify suitable hybrids with cold
tolerance which could fit in double cropping system.
G.3. Seed Quality Control: The essence of any seed programme consists in quality control and seed is
different from grain only if certain qualities which are important from the point of view of genetic purity are
preserved carefully. The seed programme without quality control will result in failure. Therefore, it requires utmost
attention.
i. The certification of all classes of seed is mandatory. The seeds are certified by officials of the
Provincial Seed Certification Centres and the field standards and seed quality standards are
checked against the standards specified for certification. These standards need revision to bring
them at par with international standards which are based on research and practicality.
ii. Field quality control starts with field inspection prior to planting leading to approval of seed fields
(field history, preceding crop, soil conditions, availability of irrigation water, slope, etc. should all
be checked). Standard number of inspections and time of inspections should be followed from
planting to harvesting and storage. Implementing proper seed field inspection scheme with trained
inspection officials will lead seed farms to appreciate the difference between seed and grain
production and thereby comply with seed production discipline.
iii. Field Inspections in respect of hybrid maize and rice seed fields is a tool to evaluate the quality of
seed production. The field inspection at appropriate crop growth stages is particularly important in respect
of first generation hybrids of rice and maize as these are expected to perform better than non hybrid seed
and farmers will not obtain desired results unless the hybrids are truly the type of crosses which they were
intended to be. If seed which is not up to the mark and standard is certified, all users of seed will suffer. The
agricultural programmes of the country will also suffer. Therefore, standards specified for certification are
required to be adhered to equitably and with firmness.
iv. Seed project has recently established three seed testing laboratories in selected seed farms.
These laboratories should follow International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) procedure to test
the seed samples. It will ensure the uniformity in the procedure and results.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
42
v. Upgrading of Central Seed Testing Laboratory at Central Seed Inspection Centre is desirable.
Non availability of chemical and reagents is a major problem. It could be achieved by providing
essential seed testing laboratory equipment, chemicals, reagents and other supplies. Supply of a
desktop computer with printer will certainly help in maintaining record and generating seed testing
reports.
vi. The Central Seed Testing Laboratory must introduce a system of referral testing to ensure
uniformity of seed testing in all the laboratories in the country. It should provide active leadership
in developing the Provincial State Seed Testing Laboratories.
G.4. Seed Processing and Packing:
i. In dealing with seeds, we deal with living material with the result that constant care is necessary
at all stages of production, processing, storage etc. The main objective of seed processing is to
preserve the viability of the seeds by removing all foreign matter and contaminating material. Seed cleaning
and grading machines available at foundation seed farms are very old and inefficient. These are required to
be replaced and the deficiencies in the functional seed cleaners also required to be removed immediately.
ii. Upgrading of three foundation seed production farms with rehabilitation or reconstruction of most
essential facilities for seed drying and storage buildings, rehabilitation of repairable equipment or
its replacement and the provision of additional seed processing (threshing, cleaning, treatment
and packaging) and storage equipment is urgently needed if these are to be developed as ideal
seed farms.
iii. The packing of seed is another weak area in the process of production of quality seed on these
farms. Packaging comes at the end of processing operations. All the efforts taken in inspecting
seed lots from the time of sowing to processing and all the care taken to preserve their viability
through proper seed processing would be of no avail if steps are not taken to avoid physical
adulteration of seed lots. Sometime seed is packed in straw bags. Such bags neither could be
sealed properly nor labelled. Beside this, storage and handling of seed in the seed stores in straw
bags can become a cause of varietal mixing. It is recommended that seed bags of suitable
material should be used so that these could also be properly labelled. It would be better if seed is
packed in cotton and jute canvas, gunny bags or Polypropylene bags.
iv. Proper storage is vital for all seed operations. Seed storage was proper in some cooperative farm
stores whereas, it was poor with others. Storing cleaned and bagged seed on dusty floors and
outside under unprotected condition might damage seed quality. In most of the cases the existing
seed storage facilities require renovation.
G.5. Introduction of new plant varieties:
i. Another development of great concern is the fact that in irrigated ecosystem, which contributes major
share of the food production advances made so far, yield levels of high yielding varieties (non-hybrid)
are getting plateaued and need to be improved through introduction of better varieties and
optimization of management practices. Breeding and seed production programmes often go hand
in hand to make an impact. Therefore, there should be strong coordination between AAS and
seed programme.
ii. Linkage with International Organizations is very important to keep pace with the latest
developments in agriculture. Effective linkage of AAS, Agricultural University and various crop
research institutes with Regional and International sources of improved planting material
especially with various centres of Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
43
(CGIAR) is necessary to procure new genetic material and technology. AAS should delineate
agro-ecologies for targeted crops and on this basis establish international professional seed
linkages for obtaining new / improved materials.
iii. The policy of both “breed” and “test” should be followed in introduction of new improved plant
varieties. It is usually best options for taking advantages of research at home and abroad.
iv. Study and training visits of the scientists and technicians working in plant breeding and seed
sector to the international institutions/organizations like International Rice Research Institute,
Manila, Philippines for rice; International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre, Mexico for wheat
and maize; a few agricultural universities in the region like those in China and other neighbouring
countries with more or less similar crops and climate as in DPRK will be very helpful in advancing
the research at home. One year long intensive training of the concerned scientists is considered
ideal.
G.6. Efforts towards export of seed of cabbage and radish: DPRK seems to be ideal location for
production of open-pollinated and hybrid seeds of cabbage and radish provided adequate steps are
taken to accelerate the programme and seed quality standards are up-to international level. Tonnes of
hybrid cabbage seed are imported into India from this region and in my opinion, DPRK may explore
the possibility of producing and exporting hybrid cabbage and radish seed to the international market
particularly Indian sub-continent in due course of time. This arrangement can be materialized based
on certain mutually agreed MoU between DPRK and reputed vegetable seed companies where bulk
of raw seed can be exported to the destination for further processing, packing and marketing to save
cost to both the sides. Cabbage seed production is extremely difficult in tropical countries and
incidentally these countries consume a lot of cabbage seeds, for example, Indian vegetable seed
companies import and sell about 40 tonnes of hybrid cabbage seed annually.
H. Possible Priorities Areas for a Project Extension or Complementary Project
In order to carry forward the efforts of Seed and Post-harvest projects funded by UNDP to a logical
conclusion and also to provide a basis for sustainability as well as a good exit strategy for both the
donor and FAO, a new project should be designed to bridge the remaining critical gaps in seed
sector.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed Project
44
Annex – I. General Information on Demonstration Cooperative Farms under Seed Project:
Description
Maekjon Foundation
Farm
Unpa Certified
Farm
Daesong Certified
Farm
Total
1. Total farmers number 1016 702 1894 3,612
2. No. of male farmers 487 312 909 1,708
3. No. of female farmers 529 390 985 1,904
4. No. of technician 89 93 203 385
5. Total arable land (ha) 377 270 943 1,590
6. Paddy(ha) 165 53 701 919
7. Non Paddy(ha) 212 217 242 671
8. Total Area for seed
production(ha)
192 89 718 999
9. No. of cleaning machines 3 2 2 7
10. No. of rice threshing
machine
5 3 11 19
11. No. of maize sheller 5 3 12 20
12. No. of tractor 16 14 25 55
13. No. of grain production
work team
8 3 12 23
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed Project
45
Annex – II. Assets delivered under Seed project:
UNDP TAG # Description Quantity
Unit Price (USD)
Delivery Date
Total Price (USD)
Location/allotment
PRK61795001 PRK61795002 PRK61795003 PRK61795004
Light Truck
2 ton capacity, FAW
4 7,469.00 7/1/2012 29,876.00
Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang City - 1 unit, Up Certified Seed Farm, Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province - 1 unit, Daesong Certified Seed Farm for cereals, Sukchon, South Pyongan Province - 1 unit, and Seed Inspection Centre, South Pyongan Province - 1 unit.
PRK61795005 PRK61795006 PRK61795007
Tractor 4WD, 75 HP, Foton-754 with spare parts
3 16,100.0
0 7/1/2012 48,300
Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang City - 1 unit, Up Certified Seed Farm, Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province - 1 unit, and Daesong Certified Seed Farm for cereals, Sukchon, South Pyongan Province - 1 unit.
PRK61795008 PRK61795009 PRK61795010
Trailer Tripping Trailer, 4-wheeled for 75 HP tractor
3 3,698.00 7/1/2012 11,094
Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang City - 1 unit, Up Certified Seed Farm, Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province - 1 unit, and Daesong Certified Seed Farm for cereals, Sukchon, South Pyongan Province - 1 unit.
PRK61795011 PRK61795012 PRK61795013
Seed Cleaner
3 mt/h based on wheat
3 4,102.00 7/1/2012 12,306
Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang City - 1 unit, Up Certified Seed Farm, Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province - 1 unit, and Daesong Certified Seed Farm for cereals, Sukchon, South Pyongan Province - 1 unit.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
46
PRK61795014 PRK61795015 PRK61795016 PRK61795017
Seed Lab Equipments
Basic seed lab equipments, 4 sets
4 Lumpsu
m 7/1/2012 15,588
Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang City - 1 set, Up Certified Seed Farm, Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province - 1 set, Daesong Certified Seed Farm for cereals, Sukchon, South Pyongan Province - 1 set, and Seed Inspection Centre, South Pyongan - 1 set.
PRK61795018 PRK61795019 PRK61795020
Wet Seed Extractor
for fruit & veg. seeds
3 2,193.66 7/1/2012 6,581
Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang City - 1 unit, Up Certified Seed Farm, Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province - 1 unit, and Daesong Certified Seed Farm for cereals, Sukchon, South Pyongan Province - 1 unit.
PRK61795021 PRK61795022 PRK61795023
Mobile Thresher
Self propelled rice thresher with 3 roller, 27/28 HP diesel engine
3 5,505.66 7/1/2012 16,517
Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang City - 1 unit, Up Certified Seed Farm, Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province - 1 unit, and Daesong Certified Seed Farm for cereals, Sukchon, South Pyongan Province - 1 unit.
PRK61795027 PRK61795028 PRK61795029 PRK61795030 PRK61795031 PRK61795032 PRK61795033 PRK61795034
Threshing Yard
1,000 m2 8
41,740.25
Jul-Aug, 2012
333,922
Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang City - 5 units, Up Certified Seed Farm, Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province - 1 unit, and Daesong Certified Seed Farm for cereals, Sukchon, South Pyongan Province - 2 units.
PRK61795035 PRK61795036 PRK61795037
Maize Sheller
Self-propelled, 24/25hp diesel engine, capacity: 1,200 kg/hour
3 4,105.00 7/1/2014 12,315
Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang City - 1 unit, Up Certified Seed Farm, Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province - 1 unit, and Daesong Certified Seed Farm for cereals, Sukchon, South Pyongan Province - 1 unit.
PRK61795038 Foundation Seed Store
50 MT capacity 1 70,824.0
0 16/11/2012
70,824
Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang City - 1 unit.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
47
PRK61795039 PRK61795040 PRK61795041
Drying Facility
Roof surface: 127 sq. meter; surface of paved yard: 400 sq. m.
3 16,020.1
9 30/11/2013 48,060.58
Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang City - 1 unit, Up Certified Seed Farm, Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province - 1 unit, and Daesong Certified Seed Farm for cereals, Sukchon, South Pyongan Province - 1 unit.
PRK61795042 - PRK61795050
Rice Transplanter
Working width: 2 m; No. of rice planting line: 10 lines; Engine: 6 HP
9 1,580.00 21/10/2013 14,220
Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang City - 3 units, Up Certified Seed Farm, Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province - 3 units, and Daesong Certified Seed Farm for cereals, Sukchon, South Pyongan Province - 3 units.
PRK61795051 -
PRK61795056
Greenhouse
Greenhouse, area: 630 sq. m. per greenhouse, one side with concrete wall
6 16,628.1
7 May, 2014 99,769.02
Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang City - 2 units, Up Certified Seed Farm, Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province - 2 units, and Daesong Certified Seed Farm for cereals, Sukchon, South Pyongan Province - 2 units.
PRK61795057 Laptop
HP 8740w i7 4GB 17"; Tag ID: PRK785640001; Export License: D 486065
1 1,916.13 Sep, 2012 1,916.13 FAO office
Installation of dehumidifier and air cooling system
CFZ-7.0YT, dehumidifying capacity: 7 kg/h, working temperature: 5-35
0C, motor:
4.2 kw, weight: approx. 150 kg, dehumidifying area: 200-250 m
2
1 set 33,842.0
0 Aug, 2014 33,842.00
Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang City.
Terminal Report of DRK/10/004 – Seed project
48
2WD Farm Walking Tractor, 12 HP
2WD Farm Walking Tractor, 12 HP, 1-cylinder, 4stroke, horizontal, water cooling and its accessories namely, trailer, plough, and rotary tiller – 3 units.
3 units
2,574.66 Sep, 2014 7,724.00
Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang City - 1 unit, Up Certified Seed Farm, Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province - 1 unit, and Daesong Certified Seed Farm for cereals, Sukchon, South Pyongan Province - 1 unit.
Greenhouses materials
Supply of materials for 6 greenhouses, non-wall type.
6 units
29,988.00
Aug, 2014 4,998.00
Maekjon Foundation Seed Farm, Kangdong County, Pyongyang City - 2 units, Up Certified Seed Farm, Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province - 2 units, and Daesong Certified Seed Farm for cereals, Sukchon, South Pyongan Province - 2 units.
767,852.73
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