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| Even goats want
enough tasty food to eat... |
Breeding goats and processing
milk these are our main goals for the project in North Korea. For several
years we have been pursuing a strategy of improving the food supply not
only for people but to also provide enough nutritious fodder for milk-producing
goats. 
Two
friends future grass growers? |
In order for a goat to give
more than one or two cups of milk, it needs to have enough food and nutritious
food. Only under these conditions will there be an adequate amount
of good quality milk to process into yogurt or cheese.
Although the landscape and
climate in North Korea are similar to Switzerland, some fundamental things
are quite different. The year begins brown and dry with little precipitation.
Summer monsoons bring the necessary rain showers to produce lush green
plants; but the bitter-cold winter is just around the corner. As soon as bushes and trees
sprout their new leaves and the grass begins to grow, the goats have a
feast. For the long winter months, farmers collect and dry leaves and grass.
However, in springtime the silos are usually empty before the fields become
green again. The hungry animals are forced to live on a minimum diet until
the rains come and provide the desired greenery. Although temperatures
are already warm, plants often do not have their new leaves until mid-May!
Cultivated grasses sprout
much earlier than the natural Korean grasses and leaves. These grass
varieties are also more nutritious than leaves and they can be dried and
stored more easily.
The baby goats, the kids,
are especially dependent upon nutritious food during their first winter
to build up a healthy foundation for the future.
At this time, we are still
dealing with a lack of hay-making and silage preparation know-how at many
of our project locations. One of our main consulting applications is to
share this knowledge. This begins with importing small quantities of seed
for test-planting and propagation. Only some of the first plantings
survived the hard winter and following dry season. We continue to
work with local partners and agricultural experts to find new, hardier
grass varieties and to test these on site to discover which grasses best
suit the North Korean conditions.  
Grass
test-plot with carefully written sign and attractive fence |
Sowing
and Reaping / The Seed Takes Root!
A farmer went out to
sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the,
path and the birds came along and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places,
where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the
soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched,
and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among the thorns,
which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil,
where it produced a crop a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
When I look at this story,
the first thing I see is that ¾ of the seed was lost. Not
a very encouraging result. When I look again, though, I realize that
the story does not describe loss, but rather a highly profitable situation
for the farmer: of the 100 seeds that were sown, 75 were lost, but
the remaining 25 seeds produced in part a 100-fold harvest or 25/3 x 100
= 833; one portion gave a 60-fold harvest (or 500); the last portion
gave a 30-fold harvest for a total of 1583. This is a return of
158%! What a powerful promise we have to keep us going, also in our
work for North Korea.Stefan Burckhardt,
Director North Korea
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Due to the continuing food
shortages, nearly every piece of land is used for the cultivation of food.
Where can we find space to grow hay?
In light of the need to
produce more food for the population, we suggest using poor quality land
for animal fodder production. There are enough suitable spaces for this
purpose, because the Korean landscape is filled with relatively flat and
narrow river valleys whose steep sides are being used more and more as
fields to plant much-needed crops. However, because the quality of
this land is not very good, the production level is quite low. We see these
areas as promising locations for hay production. It is more difficult
to find land to plant grasses for seed-harvesting. To get the best
results, a flat piece of land is necessary. Because there is no clearly
visible produce from seed-production, the idea of using valuable land for
this purpose remains controversial.
Promoting fodder production
is challenging work because it requires long-term commitment without immediate
results. However, those people who have invested the necessary patience
in this endeavor are convinced and enthusiastic. This was the reaction
of the local director in Kubin who told us that their goats needed good
alfalfa hay to be healthier and to produce more milk. 
Agricultural
Expert Daniel Gerster evaluates a field ready for harvest |
 | | Today some project
location propagate their own seed |
At the beginning, many
locations received a sack with various grass seeds from Agape International.
They were encouraged by the good results of these plantings, and are now
ready to grow larger crops. In their enthusiasm, many
local directors were ready to harvest the seeds right away to save them
for the next years planting. However, early harvesting made it impossible
for us to observe how productive the various plants actually were and compare
the new varieties. It is clear, however, that when the leaders are
convinced, the grass will continue to be grown as they tend the crops themselves.
| Seed Propagation is one of the areas
of expert knowledge that the Ministry of Agriculture has chosen to promote
vigorously |
At the location in ZaeAn
we have a special emphasis on seed propagation. A total of some 6
ha of seed are produced by hand.
We have had success growing
TRITICALE for use as fodder as well as KNAULGRAS and alfalfa. We continue
to test other varieties in other areas.
A small drying machine helps
us to prepare the seed quickly so that it can be stored long-term. On a
recent visit to check on seed production, the local workers explained that
within a month of production, most of the seed had already been sold.
This seed is in great demand!
Having enough good seed
on hand goes a long way to ensure a good harvest for the future. | |  Consultants
and Workers mix various types of seed |
How
to sow seed: Practical Training in the Field |
Propagated
Seed ready for sale |
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