PGR News from the Pacific

Posted 5:44 PM by Luigi

The situation in the Reef Islands, Solomon Islands

PRESS RELEASE FROM KASTOM GADEN ASSOCIATION: A report from S.P. Lenga, Vice President of the Improved Temotu Traditional Agriculture Farmers Association. S.P. is a member of the Solomon Islands Planting Material Network supported by Kastom Gaden Association and he passed this news by HF radio from the Reef Islands, Temotu Province.

An eight-month period of unusual weather has effected Reef Islands leading to severe food shortage. It appears to have been a long dry season since the middle of 2004 followed by a long and unseasonal wet season since february 2005. The result is that kumara, cassava, taro and other root crops have yielded very poorly and have now been exhausted. Usually breadfruit should be starting to have a lot of fruit at this time of year but instead there is very little. Breadfruit trees are looking very poor and many of the young fruit fall down black on the ground. To add to the problems, flying foxes have hit the remaining breadfruit crop much harder than usual without much left for people to eat. The trees have a few young fruits, but only a couple of the many varieties grown in reef islands are fruiting and many families do not have these varieties. The result is that there will not be enough breadfruit for at least a few months and up to five months and even then people will not have enough to process into Nambo, the dried breadfruit that usually sustains people at such times. Many families lived off the wild yams in the bush and those they had planted in their agro forests, a tradition in Reef Islands, but since late last year they are all finished.

S.P. believes that declining soil fertility has made the situation much worse along with the fact that many families are not planting enough of the traditional tree crops like breadfruit, polynesian chestnut and alite in enough quantity and the different varieties including the wild yams and greens underneath in the improved temotu traditional agriculture model. The big bush is all gone and the soils are being exhausted by over cropping from a growing population. The old people say they have experienced this type of season before and they used to prepare for it with processed foods like nambo and a wide range of tree and garden crops that they could live off. But people today have forgotten this knowledge. However, S.P. believes this is the worst season in his time in Reef Islands: 'every day people just wake up and think about what are they going to do today to feed their children. At the moment they are living off sea products, mangrove fruits, bush greens' (S.P. Lenga).

'Husbands and families in Honiara should think of their children at home - we need your help. ' said Mrs S.P. Lenga.

Mrs S.P. said in past years with bad seasons families were able to look after themselves by buying food with the income they earned. But at the moment most families have very little money and just cannot afford to buy rice. Those families who work can buy rice and are doing OK.

S.P. believes that emergency food is needed and that is why they have been calling for help from the National Disaster Management Office. But in the longer term people need to plant more ITTA agro forests and learn how to improve the fertility of their land. He is concerned that many local varieties may be lost during this period. For example many families are eating all their pana and will have none for replanting.



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This weblog documents the activities of Pacific Agricultural Genetic Resources Network (PAPGREN), along with other information on plant genetic resources (PGR) in the Pacific. The myriad varieties found within cultivated plants are fundamental to the present and future productivity of agriculture. PAPGREN, which is coordinated by the Land Resources Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), helps Pacific countries and territories to conserve their crop genetic diversity sustainably, with technical assistance from the Bioversity International (BI) and support from NZAID and ACIAR. SPC also hosts the Centre of Pacific Crops and Trees (CEPaCT). The CEPaCT maintains regional in vitro collections of crops important to the Pacific and carries out research on tissue culture technology. The CEPaCT Adviser is Dr Mary Taylor (MaryT@spc.int), the CEPaCT Curator is Ms Valerie Tuia (ValerieT@spc.int). 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Box 77 Nausori Fiji Islands Tel: (679) 3477044 Fax: (679) 3477546-400262 Email: apisainu@yahoo.com Dr Maurice Wong Service du Developpement Rural B.P. 100 Papeete Tahiti 98713 French Polynesia Tel: (689) 42 81 44 Fax: (689) 42 08 31 Email: maurice.wong@rural.gov.pf Mr Tianeti Beenna Ioane Head, Research Section Division of Agriculture Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development P.O. Box 267 Tarawa Kiribati Tel: (686) 28096-28108-28080 Fax: (686) 28121 Email : agriculture@tskl.net.ki; Beenna_ti@yahoo.com Mr Frederick Muller Secretary Ministry of Resources & Development P.O. Box 1727 Majuro 96960 Marshall Islands Tel: (692) 6253206 Fax: (692) 6257471 Email: rndsec@ntamar.net Mr Herman Francisco Director Bureau of Agriculture Ministry of Resources & Development P.O. Box 460 Koror 96940 Palau Tel: (680) 4881517 Fax: (680) 4881725 Email: bnrd@pnccwg.palaunet.com Ms Rosa Kambuou Principal Scientist PGR NARI Dry Lowlands Programme Laloki Agricultural Research Station P.O. Box 1828 Boroko National Capital District Papua New Guinea Tel: (675) 3235511 Fax: (675) 3234733 Email: kambuou@global.net.pg Ms Laisene Samuelu Principal Crop Development Officer Crops Division Ministry of Agriculture, Forests, Fisheries & Meteorology P.O. Box 1874 Apia Samoa Tel: (685) 23416-20605 Fax: (685) 20607-23996 Email: lsamuelu@lesamoa.net Mr Jimi Saelea Director of Research Department of Agriculture and Livestock P.O. Box G13 Honiara Guadalcanal Solomon Islands Tel: (677) 27987 Mr Tony Jansen Planting Materials Network Kastom Gaden Association Burns Creek, Honiara P.O. Box 742 Honiara Solomon Islands Tel: (677) 39551 Email: kastomgaden@solomon.com.sb Mr Finao Pole Head of Research Ministry of Agriculture & Forests P.O. Box 14 Nuku'alofa Tonga Tel: (676) 23038 Fax: (676) 24271 Email: thaangana@hotmail.com Mr Frazer Bule Lehi Head of Research Department of Agriculture & Rural Development Private Mail Bag 040 Port Vila Vanuatu Tel: (678) 22525 Fax: (678) 25265 Email: flehi@hotmail.com Other links Other CROP agencies Forum Secretariat University of the South Pacific SPREP Pacific biodiversity Biodiversity hotspots Breadfruit Institute Hawaiian native plants Intellectual property rights Nature Conservancy PBIF PestNet SIDS WWF South Pacific Program Other Pacific organizations Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific Micronesian Seminar Te Puna web directory Pacific news Cafe Pacific CocoNET Wireless Island Directory Pacific Islands News Pacific Islands Report Pacific Islands Travel Pacific Time South Pacific travel Time Pacific Interested in GIS? DIVA-GIS	Sunday, May 22, 2005 Posted 5:44 PM by Luigi The situation in the Reef Islands, Solomon Islands PRESS RELEASE FROM KASTOM GADEN ASSOCIATION: A report from S.P. Lenga, Vice President of the Improved Temotu Traditional Agriculture Farmers Association. S.P. is a member of the Solomon Islands Planting Material Network supported by Kastom Gaden Association and he passed this news by HF radio from the Reef Islands, Temotu Province. An eight-month period of unusual weather has effected Reef Islands leading to severe food shortage. It appears to have been a long dry season since the middle of 2004 followed by a long and unseasonal wet season since february 2005. The result is that kumara, cassava, taro and other root crops have yielded very poorly and have now been exhausted. Usually breadfruit should be starting to have a lot of fruit at this time of year but instead there is very little. Breadfruit trees are looking very poor and many of the young fruit fall down black on the ground. To add to the problems, flying foxes have hit the remaining breadfruit crop much harder than usual without much left for people to eat. The trees have a few young fruits, but only a couple of the many varieties grown in reef islands are fruiting and many families do not have these varieties. The result is that there will not be enough breadfruit for at least a few months and up to five months and even then people will not have enough to process into Nambo, the dried breadfruit that usually sustains people at such times. Many families lived off the wild yams in the bush and those they had planted in their agro forests, a tradition in Reef Islands, but since late last year they are all finished. S.P. believes that declining soil fertility has made the situation much worse along with the fact that many families are not planting enough of the traditional tree crops like breadfruit, polynesian chestnut and alite in enough quantity and the different varieties including the wild yams and greens underneath in the improved temotu traditional agriculture model. The big bush is all gone and the soils are being exhausted by over cropping from a growing population. The old people say they have experienced this type of season before and they used to prepare for it with processed foods like nambo and a wide range of tree and garden crops that they could live off. But people today have forgotten this knowledge. However, S.P. believes this is the worst season in his time in Reef Islands: 'every day people just wake up and think about what are they going to do today to feed their children. At the moment they are living off sea products, mangrove fruits, bush greens' (S.P. Lenga). 'Husbands and families in Honiara should think of their children at home - we need your help. ' said Mrs S.P. Lenga. Mrs S.P. said in past years with bad seasons families were able to look after themselves by buying food with the income they earned. But at the moment most families have very little money and just cannot afford to buy rice. Those families who work can buy rice and are doing OK. S.P. believes that emergency food is needed and that is why they have been calling for help from the National Disaster Management Office. But in the longer term people need to plant more ITTA agro forests and learn how to improve the fertility of their land. He is concerned that many local varieties may be lost during this period. For example many families are eating all their pana and will have none for replanting. * Comments: Post a Comment	Archive October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 RSS Feed Alternative feed Contact Tevita Something new: Agrobiodiversity Weblog: For discussions of conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources of crops, livestock and their wild relatives. 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