Food Security in PNG related to El Nino Climate Events, 2015
Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been undergoing a severe food security crisis related to climatic effects stemming from a particularly strong El Nino weather cycle, starting around April of 2015. There was prolonged drought in many areas in the country, as well as severe frost is many highland areas.
Although rains have returned to many locations, it is still not clear that returning rains have been adequate for agricultural recovery in some locations. Some flooding and slides due to the rains have damaged replanted gardens in some areas where rains have fallen.
All told, the cumulative effects of this El Nino event have damaged the agricultural food production system nationally. Many households in drought (and post-drought) –affected areas are mainly subsistence farmers relying on home gardens to feed their families. For these households, the food security situation has been, and remains, particularly dire in many hot spot areas across the country.
Nearly a year after the El Nino event first registered its affects in PNG, there are reports that at least 200 000 people are facing critical food shortages, and are in need of immediate food relief assistance right away. Other parts of the country, while in receipt of food relief supplies, have noted that what has been provided hasn’t been adequate to meet their family’s needs for the sustained periods of time that they have been affected.
Staple crops, such as kaukau for example, can take up to 9 months to regrow, depending on altitude. There is a currently an in-country shortage of many planting materials and/or seeds that required to rebuild important garden staples. In-country capacity to supply and multiply foundation seeds needs to be supported. Generally speaking, a proper agricultural recovery, one that allows self-reliant maintenance of local food production to return, is still months away. Until then food insecurity remains, or even grows.
The Government of PNG estimated that more than 2.7 million people have been affected negatively to some degree by drought and other El Nino related climatic events. Population estimates based on 2011 census data suggest that over 700,000 people live in areas either classified as being very severely affected (category 4) or extremely affected (category 5) by drought related effects. Of this number, approximately 480,000 are in Category 5, and 220 000 are in category 4 affected areas. It is estimated around 162 000 are in desperate need of immediate food assistance at the current time.