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FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission report
8.7 million North Koreans need food assistance
The report estimates the total food production to be 4.21 million
tonnes for the 2008/2009 marketing year (November 2008-October 2009),
leaving the DPRK to face a cereal deficit of 836 000 tonnes, even with
commercial imports (around 500 000 tonnes). Food assistance
requirements to feed almost 9 million people are estimated at 800 000
tonnes until the next harvest in October 2009.
December 8, 2008, Rome - Around 40 percent of the population of the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), an estimated 8.7 million
people, mostly young children, pregnant and nursing women and the
elderly, will urgently need food assistance because of an expected
cereals deficit in the coming months, FAO and the World Food Programme
(WFP) said in a joint report today.
Despite favourable climate conditions during the past growing season,
the country's agricultural production will not meet basic food needs
this year, according to the FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment
Mission report. The joint mission visited the DPRK from 9-24 October
2008; it was the first such comprehensive field assessment mission
since 2004.
"DPRK will face a severe food situation over the coming months," said
Henri Josserand, Chief of the FAO Global Information and Early Warning
System. "Despite good weather and hard work by farmers and many city
dwellers, they could not overcome critical shortages of fertilizer and
fuel. The prospects for next year are bleak, with a substantial
deficit of basic foods that will only partly be covered by commercial
imports and anticipated food aid."
The report estimates the total food production to be 4.21 million
tonnes for the 2008/2009 marketing year (November 2008-October 2009),
leaving the DPRK to face a cereal deficit of 836 000 tonnes, even with
commercial imports (around 500 000 tonnes). Food assistance
requirements to feed almost 9 million people are estimated at 800 000
tonnes until the next harvest in October 2009.
"The findings of the mission confirm WFP's fears that millions of DPRK
households will suffer through yet another year of food shortages,"
said Torben Due, WFP DPRK Representative in a statement from
Pyongyang. "With such a large food gap, accessing enough food and a
balanced diet will be almost impossible, particularly for families
living in urban areas or in the remote food-deficit provinces in the
Northeast. This could have grave consequences for the health of the
most vulnerable groups."
Read full report: http://infoclickindia.com/fnews.php?id=353&path_news=North%20Korea%20flag.jpg
8.7 million North Koreans need food assistance
The report estimates the total food production to be 4.21 million
tonnes for the 2008/2009 marketing year (November 2008-October 2009),
leaving the DPRK to face a cereal deficit of 836 000 tonnes, even with
commercial imports (around 500 000 tonnes). Food assistance
requirements to feed almost 9 million people are estimated at 800 000
tonnes until the next harvest in October 2009.
December 8, 2008, Rome - Around 40 percent of the population of the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), an estimated 8.7 million
people, mostly young children, pregnant and nursing women and the
elderly, will urgently need food assistance because of an expected
cereals deficit in the coming months, FAO and the World Food Programme
(WFP) said in a joint report today.
Despite favourable climate conditions during the past growing season,
the country's agricultural production will not meet basic food needs
this year, according to the FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment
Mission report. The joint mission visited the DPRK from 9-24 October
2008; it was the first such comprehensive field assessment mission
since 2004.
"DPRK will face a severe food situation over the coming months," said
Henri Josserand, Chief of the FAO Global Information and Early Warning
System. "Despite good weather and hard work by farmers and many city
dwellers, they could not overcome critical shortages of fertilizer and
fuel. The prospects for next year are bleak, with a substantial
deficit of basic foods that will only partly be covered by commercial
imports and anticipated food aid."
The report estimates the total food production to be 4.21 million
tonnes for the 2008/2009 marketing year (November 2008-October 2009),
leaving the DPRK to face a cereal deficit of 836 000 tonnes, even with
commercial imports (around 500 000 tonnes). Food assistance
requirements to feed almost 9 million people are estimated at 800 000
tonnes until the next harvest in October 2009.
"The findings of the mission confirm WFP's fears that millions of DPRK
households will suffer through yet another year of food shortages,"
said Torben Due, WFP DPRK Representative in a statement from
Pyongyang. "With such a large food gap, accessing enough food and a
balanced diet will be almost impossible, particularly for families
living in urban areas or in the remote food-deficit provinces in the
Northeast. This could have grave consequences for the health of the
most vulnerable groups."
Read full report: http://infoclickindia.com/fnews.php?id=353&path_news=North%20Korea%20flag.jpg