Drought-hit North Korea cuts food distribution
Cristina Coslet, FAO's Global Information and Early Warning System officer in charge of Far East Asia, told VOA the North Korean government informed the agency that the country's food ration for July was 310 grams per person per day, a 25 percent decrease from the previous month. Between January and June 2015, the average food ration was 410 grams per person per day.
Coslet said a severe drought is affecting the country's crop production.
"We assume that this is mainly because early planted crops - wheat, barley, potato - decreased considerably," said Coslet in a phone interview with VOA.
Coslet expected this year's production of potatoes and winter wheat to drop by more than 20 percent from the previous year.
The FAO official said the early season harvest is relatively small, but it is an important food source for North Koreans.
"Spring crops are vital for food security, being an important food source for the lean season, which stretches from May to September," said Coslet.
Coslet added, however, that it is still too early to estimate the final harvest, as rainfall in the coming weeks is crucial.
Despite the dismal forecast, the communist country is not known to have sought food assistance from U.N. agencies or Western countries.
Source: bignewsnetwork.com
