Today the Korean people are recollecting with deep emotion the energetic and scrupulous guidance of President
President
"In order to provide people with vegetables every season, we must make energetic efforts-building greenhouses and growing vegetables in them."
The demand for vegetables which provides vitamins and various nutrients to the people is uniform across seasons, but vegetable cultivation is impossible outdoors in cold winters and high yield is unachievable in rainy and hot seasons. Therefore, there is a large bias in vegetable production and a large inequality in supply at different times, especially in the northern highlands, because the unfavorable climate conditions greatly affect vegetable production, and thus, the production of vegetables cannot be increased.
However, greenhouses can grow vegetables regardless of climate and increase vegetable production even in the unfavorable climate of the northern highlands, as they provide favorable conditions for vegetable cultivation, using thermal insulation in winter, lowering temperature and humidity by shading in summer.
President
Feeling concerned about the fact that the people of Ryanggang Province were not eating enough vegetables, he gave the agricultural scientists the task of studying the variety of vegetables which can be cultivated in the highlands and gave careful guidance. As a result, a variety of cabbage which can grow in cold areas was bred and cultivated in different parts of the province.
One day in August Juche 70(1981), he visited Ryanggang Province and said that we should build greenhouses and do the greenhouse farming to solve the vegetable problem. He said that three crops could be cultivated in the greenhouse for eight months from March to October, yielding 150 to 200 tons of vegetables per hectare, and two crops of tomatoes and melons and even three crops of cucumbers would be possible.
He said that vinyl sheets were good for building greenhouses, and the vinyl sheets greenhouse can be easily built with less material. He also explained the way to build greenhouses, saying that the wooden frames covered with vinyl sheets with humus soil in it would make a perfect greenhouse.
When visiting the Samjiyon Greenhouse Vegetable Farm, he said that the pillars of the greenhouse should be made with straight wood, the rails and rafters should be planed up smoothly and the distance between the rafters should be wide so that more sunlight could get in. He continued that thin vinyl sheets could be easily damaged, so they should be replaced with thicker ones, and the double walls built with locally abundant pumice stone bricks would insulate it from cold air and keep it warm.
He saw to it that a model of greenhouse farming in the northern highlands was created and popularized to increase the vegetable production.
He saw to it that vinyl sheet greenhouses were built in then Samjiyon County and the greenhouse vegetable production was tested. When he visited the experimental ground, he said with satisfaction that it was very great. He said that it was possible to plant another crop of vegetables after harvesting cucumber and that the test of vegetable production in vinyl sheet greenhouses were successful so far.
After proving that the greenhouses produced enough vegetables, he took measures to build more vinyl sheet greenhouses throughout Ryanggang Province, saying that vegetable farming in greenhouses would supply vegetables to the local people all the year round.
He provided enough equipment and materials such as vinyl sheets and water pumps, as well as technicians of greenhouse vegetable farming.
After making it possible to solve the vegetable problem by vegetable farming in vinyl sheet greenhouses, he paid constant attention to vegetable farming in the northern highlands.
While visiting Samjiyon Greenhouse Vegetable Farm in August Juche 78(1989), he saw tomatoes unripen. He said that they ripened quickly only when the proper temperature and humidity were provided. He also gave precious instructions on the distribution of crops in greenhouses. He also paid attention to take measures to improve the method of cultivation and fertility of the land as well as to develop the technical knowledge and skills of the agricultural workers.
Thanks to his great efforts and benevolence, greenhouses have been built in different parts of the northern highlands to supply the fresh vegetables to the people all the year round.
