Amid pandemic, Pacific islands working to offset food shortages

Coronavirus infections have barely affected many of the remote islands in the Pacific, but the consequences of the pandemic have been enormous, disrupting the supply chain that brings in significant food imports and pushing prices up as tourism declines.

With a food crisis looming, many governments have initiated community initiatives to help alleviate the shortage: extending fishing seasons, expanding indigenous food gathering lessons, and strengthening seed distribution programs that allow residents greater self-sufficiency.

“Initially we started with 5,000 seeds and we thought we would finish with them in nine months. But there was a great response and we finished distributing the seeds within a week, ”said Vinesh Kumar, Head of Operations for the Fiji Ministry of Agriculture.

The project provides residents with vegetable seeds, saplings, and basic farm equipment to help them grow their own gardens.

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Elisabeta Waqa, a Fiji resident, said she had contemplated starting a garden before the pandemic, but, without work, overtime at home, and seeds from the ministry and friends, she finally took action.

Seeking to have a “zero financial investment”, Waqa collected buckets, boxes and other potential pots discarded on the side of the road and in the trash. Soon his garden was transformed into containers for green beans, cucumber, cabbage, and other produce.

“When I started harvesting about two or three weeks later, that’s when I realized: OMG, this is a hobby that people have had for so long. I thought about how much money I could save doing this, ”Waqa said.

Geographically isolated with limited arable land and increased urbanization, many of the Pacific island countries and territories have seen their populations shift from traditional agriculture-based work to tourism. The trend has created a greater reliance on imported foods like corned beef, noodles and other highly processed foods rather than the traditional diet of locally grown products like nutrient-rich yams and taro.

Eriko Hibi, director of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Liaison Office in Japan, called the change a “triple burden” of health problems: malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity.

When the pandemic hit, almost every country in the region closed their borders. Shipping supply chains, including farm fertilizers and food, were disrupted, causing prices to spike. In Suva, Fiji, the cost of some fresh fruits and vegetables increased by as much as 75% during the first weeks.

At the same time, tourism, which Hibi says accounts for up to 70 percent of some countries’ gross domestic product, came to a halt, leaving thousands of unemployed with reduced access to food.

“It’s not just about the availability of prices in the market, but also about the purchasing power of consumers, which has gone down,” said Hibi.

In Tuvalu, the government held workshops to teach young people indigenous food production methods, such as planting taro and collecting sap from coconut trees. In Fiji, the government extended the fishing season for coral trout and grouper that could be sold for income or used as food.

Numerous governments encouraged residents to return to rural areas that had stronger independent food resources.

Tevita Ratucadre and his wife moved back to a rural village in Fiji to save on rent and food costs after being laid off from the hotel where they worked due to Covid-19.

In the city, “you have to buy everything with money, even if you have to put food on the table,” Ratucadre said. “In the village you can grow your own things.”

Having watched his parents farm as a child, Ratucadre said he could remember how to plant and grow a neighbor’s cassava stems. Now he grows enough food for his family, he said.

“When I used to work, I used to buy what I wanted to eat when I went to the supermarket,” he said. “Now I have to plant and eat what I have planted.”

Mervyn Piesse, a research manager at the Australia-based research institute Future Directions International, said it was too early to know what the potential health benefits might be, but that regional diets could shift from imports to fresher food, even after the pandemic.

“I think there’s a movement in parts of the Pacific for people to really start thinking, ‘If we can grow food ourselves during a global pandemic, why can’t we do the same in normal times?'” Piesse said.

Waqa said she has already made up her mind: Although she has started working again, she taught her older children how to garden and harvest produce while she is gone.

“Now I save money on food, I know where my food comes from and I feel more secure about having food,” she said. “I don’t want to be like before.”

The Associated Press Department of Health and Science receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. AP is solely responsible for all content.