Elgin man heads delegation to aid North Korean farmers
April 13, 2008
BY JULIE MULLEN For The Courier News [Suburban Chicago IL]
Looking past political dogma and recognizing the needs of the country's poor, a local church took part in a recent pilgrimage to North Korea to aid farmers who help feed the hungry.
The Church of the Brethren in Elgin assembled a delegation, headed by Howard Royer, to visit the communist state -- an invitation rarely extended to people from the U.S., Royer said.
The trip was arranged through Foods Resource Bank, which had sent delegates to North Korea in December.
Along with select others, the Elgin resident visited four farm enterprises that have been receiving support from the church's Global Food Crisis Fund, which Royer manages.
The farms were designated by the North Korean government for rehabilitation because they feed some 15,000 people living nearby. Kim Jong Il's government has established state quotas that give priority to the growing of cotton, a crop that has been introduced on the four farms. Other key produce are rice, corn, wheat, barley, fruit and vegetables.
In a country where 80 percent of the terrain is mountainous and where fuel and fertilizer are in dire supply, advances in agriculture are few, Royer said.
Drought and floods periodically take their toll, including in August 2007, when several days of torrential rain reduced what showed promise of a record yield for the season.
The aid initiative began in 2004, when the [Church of the Brethren] entered a partnership with the cluster of farms to help boost production and avert periodic famine. Since then, productivity on those farms has virtually doubled.
The farms now lead the way in improved varieties of produce, demonstrating double cropping and the inter-planting of crops.
Royer's delegation provided a follow-up to support the Church of the Brethren has offered to the farm cooperatives.
The delegation was hosted by Agglobe Services International and Korea Unpasan General Trading Corporation. Since 1996, Agglobe has channeled more than $800,000 in Global Food Crisis Fund relief efforts and development grants to North Korea.
The Church of the Brethren, which celebrates its 300th anniversary this year, is a Christian denomination committed to continuing the work of Jesus and living out its faith in the community, members say. The church counts 130,000 members across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and has missions in Nigeria, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Haiti and India.
A vexing question for a delegation from a peace church, Royer said, was deciding what message to share with a garrison state that has long regarded the military as its foremost institution.
Helping ease 60 years of estrangement between the U.S. and North Korea, delegation members found common cause in Sunday morning worship at area Christian churches.
Delegation members said they earned credibility and leverage through listening and learning, with aspirations of helping broaden the Christian faith in the poverty-stricken nation.