Cash crop shift is transforming rural agriculture in North Pyongan province. Farmers are abandoning staple food crops on private plots for higher-value cash crops. The cash crop shift is most visible around Kujang county’s Sangri Industrial Crop Farm. Farmers are growing industrial crops such as tobacco and castor bean on private plots. They are also cultivating medicinal herbs including deodeok, bellflower, yam, and gastrodia. In the past, these plots grew only basic food crops like corn, soybeans, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.
Medicinal crops grow on hillside terraces and slopes. Industrial crops grow closer to home on flat garden land. Farmers near industrial crop farms are watching state farm practices and applying them to their own plots. Rather than just growing food like before, the trend toward planting crops that make money has become unmistakable, the source said.
Some farmers obtain seeds, cultivation techniques, and pest management know-how from state farm workers. The Workers’ Party promotes the principles of right crop for the right place and right crop for the right time. The state’s push to expand industrial crop production has created an opening for personal gain.
Industrial crops fetch higher prices than regular food crops because factories use them as raw materials, the source said. Sayings like one plot of tobacco beats a few rows of corn have spread among farming communities. Farmers prioritize cash income over subsistence, focusing on what will sell at jangmadang markets rather than what they will eat.
Without sufficient expertise, farmers who fail to turn a profit could deepen their financial burdens. Nevertheless, the source said the craze for cash crops will likely continue. Moreover, the urgent need for ready money in North Korea’s countryside drives this movement. The cash crop shift has fundamentally changed how rural North Koreans relate to the economy. Farmers have moved away from passive compliance with state directives toward profit-oriented strategies. State authorities have not cracked down on this practice, suggesting tacit approval.
