Transcript
00:00
one of the nice things about coming in
00:01
the panel in the afternoon is that you
00:03
can build on the morning you certainly
00:06
kind of gained experience from it and I
00:08
two things I've noticed that one is that
00:11
the lapses of old age are covered up by
00:14
jet lag so I just want to say I came
00:17
from China very recently all right but
00:20
the second one is and I think secretary
00:22
Perry brought this out very well that
00:25
like war peace takes effort it peace
00:30
takes preparation strategy investment
00:33
and ongoing preparation and we heard him
00:36
talk about policy without a plan well
00:39
you know peace taiks plan too and so I'd
00:42
like to talk about some very
00:44
on-the-ground work that's going on in
00:49
the DPRK now my name is Linda Lewis and
00:53
I manage the American Friends Service
00:55
Committee
00:56
that's a FSC program in the DPRK now
01:01
most people are surprised to learn that
01:03
an American organization works in North
01:05
Korea but a FSC is a handful of US NGOs
01:10
mostly faith-based and a FSC is Quaker
01:14
affiliated that maintained ongoing
01:17
problem projects in North Korea in fact
01:20
I was in the DPRK less than three weeks
01:23
ago right in the middle of heightened
01:26
tensions in the region but for us it was
01:30
a routine semi-annual project monitoring
01:34
visit and I'll speak more on that in
01:37
just in in just a moment now actually a
01:41
FSC has been making efforts for peace on
01:45
the Korean Peninsula for almost as long
01:48
as the US government has been investing
01:49
in war in 1953 immediately following the
01:55
armistice agreement a FSC began a
01:58
five-year Reconstruction and Refugee
02:01
Assistance Programme near Kunsan in
02:04
South Korea then in 1980 a FSC started
02:09
people-to-people exchanges with
02:11
the north we were the first US public
02:14
affairs organization to send a
02:16
delegation to Pyongyang and that
02:19
exchange also marked the beginning of a
02:22
FSCS long partnership with the Korean
02:25
Committee for solidarity with the
02:27
world's people KC swp and this is a
02:30
partnership that continues unbroken for
02:33
37 years to this day when we still work
02:37
with them within North Korea we provided
02:41
humanitarian assistance to North Korea
02:42
during the famine in the late 1990s as
02:45
of course did many other international
02:46
organizations but then AFSC stayed on to
02:50
offer agriculture development assistance
02:53
since 1996 our focus has been on food
02:57
security and is just you just heard
02:59
arguably this may be North Korea's most
03:02
critical humanitarian need our current
03:05
program works to promote improved
03:07
technologies and sustainable agriculture
03:10
practices now after almost 20 years of
03:15
operation in terms of food we know that
03:20
our project has helped increase
03:22
agricultural productivity it's improved
03:25
food security for far farm families we
03:29
reach at least 12,000 people and that we
03:34
have empowered farm managers in local
03:37
communities we operate in partnership
03:40
with four cooperative farms as well as
03:44
with agriculture scientists at the
03:46
Academy of Agricultural Sciences case on
03:49
college of Agriculture of Kim il-sung
03:50
University and other agricultural
03:53
research institutes and groups and a
03:56
FSCS development strategy emphasizes
03:59
practical approaches that are field
04:01
tested on partner cooperative farms now
04:08
what does this mean we follow a method
04:12
that we have refined over the past
04:13
decades where green star managers use
04:17
very modest amounts of farm materials
04:19
provided by a FSC to concealed based
04:23
experiments using in a
04:25
technologies data about these
04:29
experiments are then collected and
04:31
results discussed with a FSC staff on
04:34
periodic visits in support of these
04:38
initiatives a FSC regularly hosts study
04:41
tours outside the DPRK for farm managers
04:45
agricultural researchers and policy
04:47
makers to learn about new practices and
04:50
current research that might be adaptable
04:52
to the Korean context actually until
04:55
2005 we took a lot of Koreans to Canada
05:01
in the u.s. to look at farming that
05:03
wasn't possible now but in fact we do
05:08
take four to six delegations outside the
05:11
country usually to China every year for
05:15
workshops and various kinds of training
05:18
this multi-level approach enables the
05:22
program stakeholders to assess problems
05:25
and solutions from different
05:27
perspectives and we think that it
05:30
effectively supports the adoption of
05:32
innovation innovative technologies on
05:35
DPRK farms and that also helps their
05:38
spread nationwide now so what does our
05:42
work look like on the ground in the DPRK
05:44
and if you wondering when you were going
05:46
to stop looking at this picture the
05:49
answer is now so as we manage an
05:52
agriculture program FSCS to monitoring
05:56
visits per year coincide with rice
05:59
transplanting in May and the fall
06:01
harvest in late October now this is nice
06:05
because as anyone who has spent any time
06:09
on either side of the DMZ knows these
06:12
are the best times to be out traveling
06:14
in the countryside anywhere on the
06:16
Korean Peninsula so you know the scenery
06:19
is nice and actually it coincides with
06:23
rice transplanting when there are lots
06:26
of people in the fields and of course as
06:28
this sign reminds us everyone should be
06:31
transplanting rice our last trip last
06:36
month included visit
06:38
seven cooperative farms four of them are
06:42
partners and we also visited three
06:45
potential new partners we've been
06:46
auditioning new partner farms in we do
06:50
have some choice in the matter and
06:52
visits to our partner farms typically
06:56
include well and this is this is what it
07:00
looks like when you approach a farm
07:02
center this is a typical cooperative
07:04
farm center in Korea but when we go
07:10
there first we have discussions with
07:12
farm managers and other farm management
07:17
committee members and usually in the
07:21
center of the farm management office and
07:24
this is followed by going out to the
07:27
fields to see what new things are going
07:30
on now one significant AFSC success
07:36
story has been the introduction of the
07:40
use of plastic trays for sea bed
07:43
cultivation and this spring as for as in
07:46
many Springs before we've had a chance
07:50
to observe the use of these plastic
07:53
trays in the field and here you can see
07:54
plastic tray is I don't know if you are
07:56
home gardener or maybe you're familiar
07:58
with the idea of actually growing
08:00
seedlings in trays and what's nice is
08:03
you can pull them out and take them to
08:05
the fields where you're where you're
08:08
transplanting and here the woman in the
08:11
middle is our agriculture program
08:13
assistant who's Chinese and she's
08:16
looking at the seedlings there and and
08:23
actually there are a lot of wonderful
08:27
things about this but you can see that
08:30
the seedlings come out with this like
08:31
sort of little nutrient ball around them
08:33
and so the survival rate is much higher
08:35
with using this method now we first
08:37
introduced trays on AFSC farms in ten
08:42
years ago in 2007 went on a study tour
08:44
to China farm managers Saudis and said
08:47
wow you know let's try them so I gave
08:49
them a few and they experimented with
08:51
them for so
08:52
we years found out that their use
08:54
increased rice yields by ten to fifteen
08:57
percent which of course is really quite
08:59
remarkable in the North Korean context
09:02
since then that is spread nationally the
09:05
government is pushing them trays are now
09:08
being used throughout the country on the
09:11
part a if SC partner farms are using
09:13
them almost 100% and we've heard the
09:16
estimate that maybe 10% of farms in the
09:20
DPRK have tried using them and 40% know
09:24
about them and a FSC has supported
09:27
efforts to produce the trays
09:28
domestically so we're happy about this
09:32
result when we visit farms we also see
09:36
experiments that are going on I
09:38
mentioned that we support experiments
09:40
that then we hope are going to be
09:43
adopted on the farms this is whoops oh
09:47
wait a minute oh I forgot these two okay
09:51
they we saw the trays being washed in
09:54
the field and then stacked up they can
09:58
be used for five years so but then we
10:03
also go out and see experiments this is
10:06
where we get to line up on mud mud
10:08
ridges in rice paddies and try not to
10:10
fall off and but in this case this is
10:14
experiments if you see it from the other
10:17
side experiments that the farm
10:20
management committee is doing with
10:22
different varieties of rice with the
10:24
plastic trace and to see what works best
10:27
recently we have also been encouraging
10:29
use of conservation agriculture
10:30
technologies low till covering the
10:34
fields all of these things increase soil
10:36
fertility and when we visit on our
10:38
monitoring visits we collect information
10:40
on the results of the experiments that
10:43
have been done in the previous six
10:45
months we also check up on the farm
10:49
materials we ship to the farms and you
10:53
know we really always like to see them
10:54
in use I don't know if you can see the
10:56
woman has that backpack sprayer recent
11:00
changes in the farm management system
11:03
has meant that farmers now work in
11:05
smaller groups so we've been finding
11:07
increasing requests for small materials
11:10
these backpacks sprayers - well we just
11:13
said some new ones and they told us I
11:14
say oh they're really great because
11:16
they're light enough that the women are
11:18
happy using them sixty percent of farm
11:20
labor in North Korea is female so we
11:24
were happy to actually see one on the
11:28
ground we've been providing also smaller
11:32
equipment as I said farmers are now
11:34
farming in smaller groups even
11:36
individual farmers so we have requests
11:38
for smaller equipment that is portable
11:42
this might look like your home rice your
11:44
home chipper wood chipper well it's
11:47
actually for chopping up corn stalks and
11:49
using for compound compost we sent this
11:53
in the fall another current project we
11:57
check on is greenhouses there's been a
11:59
nationwide effort in the past 5 10 or 10
12:02
years to increase greenhouse use because
12:04
obviously again going back to food
12:06
security and nutrition that these
12:11
provide more vegetables particularly in
12:13
the winter and the first ones were built
12:16
on a SSC partner farms in 2012 this is
12:21
one of the oldest ones it's a solar
12:23
greenhouse it's got a back a back side
12:27
to it this is the inside and every time
12:30
we go they've done something else to it
12:32
they've you know made it bigger they put
12:34
things up one year we came in the flood
12:36
said wash the back wall down so that but
12:40
now the farm managers are actually all
12:43
the farmers are getting very good at
12:44
cultivating things inside the greenhouse
12:48
and even in small hoop greenhouses
12:52
people are getting nice melons out of
12:56
them now greenhouses are an important
12:58
source of fruits and vegetables in the
13:00
winter and again I would say this is
13:03
important in a place where malnutrition
13:04
is common and particularly from lack of
13:06
variety in the diet and NGOs provide
13:11
greenhouses for orphanages and hospitals
13:14
also so that they can
13:16
get fruits and vegetables in the winter
13:20
I would also point out one of our farm
13:23
managers is a female we found out that
13:25
25% of farm managers are females
13:28
and so we said okay we really want to
13:31
meet this and our partner said okay
13:33
that's fine we'll we'll find a farm that
13:35
has a female manager but greenhouses are
13:43
also an important source of income for
13:45
farms and farm households as produce is
13:50
outside the farm quota system and can be
13:53
sold so there are a lot of reasons why
13:55
they've become quite common in the
13:57
Korean countryside I would also note
13:59
again about gender that many greenhouse
14:03
managers are women this woman
14:06
we've been acquainted with she runs the
14:08
major greenhouse and at one of our farms
14:11
and we heard that are the recent
14:13
two-week training in Pyongyang for
14:15
greenhouse managers by the Pyongyang
14:18
rockem vegetable research cultivation
14:21
center all nine of the greenhouse
14:23
managers who attended from a SSC partner
14:25
farms were women
14:28
now our visit ends with lunch on the
14:31
farms because aren't very many
14:33
restaurants around and on one farm in
14:36
particular we enjoy eating at the farm
14:39
managers home this is nice
14:43
because in this case we get a glimpse of
14:45
local local life this is the kitchen and
14:51
here the kindergarten is right next door
14:53
so we're often treated to informal
14:57
performances by children before or after
15:01
lunch
15:05
now I'd like to say that a FSC is an
15:10
example I believe of a small private
15:13
u.s. NGO that has realized substantial
15:17
results over the long term in the DPRK
15:21
even while operating under significant
15:24
administrative and now sanctions
15:26
constraints
15:28
and with relatively limited resources
15:31
key to AFSC success is working in close
15:35
partnership with our North Korean
15:38
counterparts relationships that have
15:40
developed between a FSC staff and local
15:42
farm managers agriculture scientists and
15:46
government officials have over time we
15:50
believe facilitated agree of trust and
15:53
openness in discussions around what we
15:56
have as shared goals and they also have
16:00
afforded continuity in activities year
16:03
to year project support is planned
16:06
jointly in consultation with various
16:09
stakeholders and priorities for
16:11
assistance are established based on
16:13
these consultations workshops and
16:17
delegations traveling outside the DPRK
16:19
including as I mentioned that annual
16:21
farm managers study tours to China which
16:24
we first piloted in 2007 these
16:27
opportunities offer additional chances
16:30
for more relaxed informal discussion and
16:33
planning between a FSC staff and DPRK
16:37
counterpart representatives and I would
16:42
say that our experience has taught that
16:46
more effective than short-term
16:48
humanitarian assistance long-term
16:51
development assistance projects that
16:53
address real human needs in a pragmatic
16:55
and respectful way have the potential to
16:58
produce tangible results in the DPRK
17:01
that our efforts build trust they
17:05
support change and they benefit ordinary
17:08
Koreans agriculture and medicine are two
17:12
areas in which the government has been
17:14
willing to accept assistance from
17:15
Americans and us NGOs have had success
17:19
operating projects focused on food
17:21
security and public health as these
17:24
projects are in line with mandated
17:26
government priorities they are generally
17:29
less affected by political tensions and
17:32
are more likely to involve work at the
17:35
individual or community level plus there
17:38
as you might note to the actual
17:40
beneficiaries
17:42
so one potential Avenue for us
17:44
engagement with the DPRK is through
17:46
support for ongoing private sector
17:48
community level development assistant
17:50
projects or for new initiatives that use
17:54
them as models effective projects like a
17:58
FSCS work through multi-level
18:01
partnerships and in support of DPRK
18:04
government development priorities they
18:07
also combine training and investment to
18:10
achieve sustainable outcomes such
18:13
projects in fact could address critical
18:16
humanitarian needs within the DPRK and
18:19
at the same time they also promote
18:22
relationship building between North
18:24
Koreans and Americans now today this
18:28
conference focuses on promising policy
18:31
options that could defuse tensions
18:34
between Washington and Pyongyang and in
18:38
this panel we look at potential
18:40
opportunities through humanitarian
18:42
engagement so I would argue that a FSCS
18:46
long experience in working with North
18:49
Korea as well as the experiences of
18:52
other organizations working there and
18:54
also the UN organizations offer insights
18:58
into dividing into designing a u.s.
19:01
engagement strategy that would improve
19:03
security for all stakeholders holders on
19:07
the Korean Peninsula such a strategy
19:10
requires collective effort to positively
19:14
transform current cycles of tension and
19:16
conflict such a strategy also requires
19:20
seeking shared solutions to shared
19:23
problems and such a strategy requires
19:27
cooperation at multiple levels but most
19:30
important I think is and as we've heard
19:34
this morning the US must adopt a
19:37
long-term approach to engagement with
19:39
the DPRK that begins by addressing root
19:42
causes such as food security rather than
19:45
focusing on symptoms in an
19:48
interdependent world achieving lasting
19:50
security is not a zero-sum game there
19:52
can be no success in meeting you
19:55
goals of reducing North Korea's nuclear
19:58
weapons or proliferation risk without
20:04
first acknowledging Pyongyang's
20:05
legitimate security concerns and
20:07
economic development interests by
20:11
addressing North Korean needs through
20:12
projects that build trust support change
20:15
and benefit ordinary people negotiation
20:18
on other issues will become possible I'd
20:22
like to conclude by noting that efforts
20:23
for war on the Korean Peninsula in the
20:26
name of security national security
20:28
peninsular Security Alliance security
20:31
regional security and now US homeland
20:34
security this year these efforts for war
20:39
have been going on for over 60 years so
20:41
maybe now it's time for the u.s.
20:43
government to try efforts for peace on
20:45
the Korean Peninsula in the name of what
20:48
we might call shared security for all
20:50
stakeholders and that would include
20:52
ordinary North Koreans thank you
17:54
them as models effective projects like a
17:58
FSCS work through multi-level
18:01
partnerships and in support of DPRK
18:04
government development priorities they
18:07
also combine training and investment to
18:10
achieve sustainable outcomes such
18:13
projects in fact could address critical
18:16
humanitarian needs within the DPRK and
18:19
at the same time they also promote
18:22
relationship building between North
18:24
Koreans and Americans now today this
18:28
conference focuses on promising policy
18:31
options that could defuse tensions
18:34
between Washington and Pyongyang and in
18:38
this panel we look at potential
18:40
opportunities through humanitarian
18:42
engagement so I would argue that a FSCS
18:46
long experience in working with North
18:49
Korea as well as the experiences of
18:52
other organizations working there and
18:54
also the UN organizations offer insights
18:58
into dividing into designing a u.s.
19:01
engagement strategy that would improve
19:03
security for all stakeholders holders on
19:07
the Korean Peninsula such a strategy
19:10
requires collective effort to positively
19:14
transform current cycles of tension and
19:16
conflict such a strategy also requires
19:20
seeking shared solutions to shared
19:23
problems and such a strategy requires
19:27
cooperation at multiple levels but most
19:30
important I think is and as we've heard
19:34
this morning the US must adopt a
19:37
long-term approach to engagement with
19:39
the DPRK that begins by addressing root
19:42
causes such as food security rather than
19:45
focusing on symptoms in an
19:48
interdependent world achieving lasting
19:50
security is not a zero-sum game there
19:52
can be no success in meeting you
19:55
goals of reducing North Korea's nuclear
19:58
weapons or proliferation risk without
20:04
first acknowledging Pyongyang's
20:05
legitimate security concerns and
20:07
economic development interests by
20:11
addressing North Korean needs through
20:12
projects that build trust support change
20:15
and benefit ordinary people negotiation
20:18
on other issues will become possible I'd
20:22
like to conclude by noting that efforts
20:23
for war on the Korean Peninsula in the
20:26
name of security national security
20:28
peninsular Security Alliance security
20:31
regional security and now US homeland
20:34
security this year these efforts for war
20:39
have been going on for over 60 years so
20:41
maybe now it's time for the u.s.
20:43
government to try efforts for peace on
20:45
the Korean Peninsula in the name of what
20:48
we might call shared security for all
20:50
stakeholders and that would include
20:52
ordinary North Koreans thank you
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