Organisation - October 11, 2012
Plant researcher acts as guide for mission in North Korea
Wageningen researcher to accompany Dutch trade mission. Jongsma paved the way for collaboration with North Korea.

Maarten Jongsma heads a project to make North Korean potatoes resistant to the disease Phytophthora. A North Korean PhD student in Wageningen has isolated genes for resistance to the disease and another North Korean has tested varieties with and without resistance genes. 'The results are very positive,' says Jongsma. 'For instance, they tested the Desiree variety in North Korea. The yield without resistance genes was 9 tons per hectare, as opposed to 34 tons with the genes. Normally they harvest between 10 and 20 tons per hectare.'
Jongsma was in North Korea only last July to deliver a container full of lab equipment from Wageningen. 'They were really pleased with it because they have a big shortage of lab equipment. They have become more accessible since then.' Jongsma also had vegetable seeds with him in preparation for the trade mission, so that they could test them.
One pleasant surprise was that all the staff in the plant breeding lab were suddenly able to speak English. 'On my previous visit I had pointed out to them that they really needed to learn English as otherwise it would make collaborative projects difficult. So they formed a class of 20 members of staff, who now attend English lessons three times a week.'