North Korean farm officials lease state land for double profits as food prices surge

Farm officials in North Korea’s Jagang province are leasing portions of state-owned agricultural land to private individuals for a fee, a scheme that allows them to collect both rental income and a share of the harvest.

According to a Daily NK source in Jagang province on Wednesday, a farm in Kangye city began leasing parcels of farmland to private individuals in mid-April 2026. The farm’s management committee chairman has set aside between approximately 49,000 and 99,000 square meters from the farm’s total land and is renting it out at 10,000 North Korean won per 3.3 square meters.

Because contracts are typically drawn up in 3,300-square-meter units, even the minimum contract requires an upfront payment of 10 million North Korean won. That sum is beyond the reach of ordinary farm workers, who are already struggling to secure enough food.

“It is virtually impossible for an ordinary farm worker who cannot even provide for their own food to pay 10 million won upfront,” the source said. “In the end, leasing farmland is only possible for donju (wealthy private entrepreneurs) or officials with the financial means to mobilize cash.”

A scheme built for double profit

Behind the practice lies what the source described as a calculated scheme by farm management committee chairmen to collect income on two fronts. Under the contract terms, the chairman collects rental fees in spring when the land is handed over, then takes an additional cut of the harvest in autumn, securing both cash and physical produce.

Farms in the Kangye area are typically organized into five work brigades, each responsible for a base area of approximately 165,000 square meters. Total farmland per farm is estimated at around 825,000 square meters. The portion being carved off for rental represents just 2 to 4% of the total, small enough to escape scrutiny from state inspectors while still generating a steady side income for the official managing it. The practice has been facilitated by a broader policy trend in which North Korean authorities have expanded the discretionary authority of farm management committee chairmen in an effort to boost agricultural productivity.

“It doesn’t end with collecting the land fee,” the source said. “They also take a portion of the harvest in autumn. It’s a structure where they profit on both ends. Ordinary farm workers call this kind of scheme ‘something with a big shadow,’ meaning corruption is built right into it.”

On the ground, workers have openly criticized farm officials for diverting state-owned land for personal benefit. “Among farm workers, there is criticism that the management committee chairman is essentially selling off state-owned land for personal gain,” the source said.

The scheme has also attracted willing investors. With rice prices in Kangye city markets now well above 20,000 North Korean won per kilogram, holding physical grain is seen as more profitable than holding cash, even after accounting for seed costs, fertilizer, and the autumn harvest share owed to the official. One season’s farming is expected to return the initial investment and then some.

“The higher food prices rise, the more farmland rental is seen as a safe investment with stable returns,” the source said. “The result is that those who hold cash are now also occupying farmland, and the gap between rich and poor in rural areas is widening further.”

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