EU/Closing the Gap: Community-based Potato Project/Fida International

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

The overall objective of this project is to contribute to the stabilization process of food production and access to food in food insecure regions in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The DPRK has been experiencing prolonged food shortages, and the impact of climate change is having its toll on masses, as each year the number of disasters such as drought, floods, and hurricanes is growing. The specific objective is to increase access to potatoes for the vulnerable population in North Pyongan Province through strengthening the existing agricultural system in DPRK by supporting farms in improving the processes which contribute to an effective seed potato production chain. The project aims not only to improve this agricultural output through better quality seed potato, the introduction of improved agricultural techniques and better storage facilities, but also to build the capacity of agricultural staff and farmers through training, on-the-job capacity building and practical demonstrations. The key stakeholder groups are five cooperative farms in the Jongju District. The number of final beneficiaries is estimated at 190,000 persons i.e. all the households in the project district including the cooperative farm households. The final beneficiaries will be those who benefit as more food potato is available to the Public Distribution System (PDS). The project duration will be 60 months in 2013-2018 and the financing applied from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is 62 998.00 EUR.