Bad weather set to cause food shortage in Malaita

Continuous wet weather in West Are’are, Malaita Province, is damaging crops causing a potential food shortage in the coming months.

SIBC’s West Are’are stringer Gabriel Riotarau said the conditions were affecting gardens of many families in the region.

“This has caused food gardens especially food crops like potatoes and cassava have low yields or even without tubers and unproductive as they expect,” he said.

“So far people have already harvested their old gardens and found a low supply of yield. Another thing is also a low yield in root crops suitable for bad weather, like kakake and other things, which are not producing good yields and unfit for food.”

Mr Riotarau said the bad weather had also caused a surge in disease admissions at area clinics.

“Two clinics I visited at Kiu and Hauhui they are currently experiencing an increase in patient admission especially with illnesses like pneumonia, malaria and other related illnesses associated with the current bad weather in West Are’are,” he said.

“So leaders in the region are kindly calling on responsible authorities like the National Disaster Council, Malaita Province as well as the national government if they can conduct a survey to find assistance to support people in West Are’are.”