Trobriand communities face food and water shortages
The people of the Trobriand Islands in Kiriwina-Goodenough District are facing severe effects of the prolonged dry weather on their food gardens and water supplies.
As the dry spell ends its fifth month, reports from the Milne Bay island say water tanks and well waters around homes are empty, and families are forced to travel far in search of drinking water.
People along the coast of the main Trobriand islands are walking as far as one kilometer inland into the swampy areas, where they dig wells to find drinking water, while their garden crops struggle to survive in the parched soil.
Speaking to NBC News this morning from the Trobriand Islands, Mulosaida Ward Councilor, Yaguma Towowoda, said crops are dying fast and household water tanks are empty.
"The crops we have now are sweet potatoes, cassava and taros but they've all been damaged because of the drought. We have wells some kilometers away from the villages that we have dug to fetch water."
Councilor Towowoda said the Northern and Central part of the main island, as well as the atolls, are now at risk of running out of food and water as the dry weather intensifies.
He added that relief supplies are expected to arrive soon for communities in the Northern, Central and the Atolls through the office of the Member for Kiriwina Goodenough.
Meanwhile, Trobriand Islander and Livestock Advisor with the Department of Agriculture and Livestock in the Milne Bay Provincial Administration, Ropsy Taudiri, said he used his time during his compassionate leave on the island to help communities asses the conditions of their garden crops, and what he observed was concerning.
"According to observations, there are certain crops that are drought-tolerant, meaning they can still produce food despite the dry weather. The strongest drought tolerant crop is giant taro but it's now beginning to wilt in this weather," Tadiri said.
"The sun is too strong and the crops stopped growing. Yams are drought-tolerant crops, but if the drought persists in the months to come, our people will lose all their food crops."