CPP POST DROUGHT ASSESSMENT REPORT | 30TH MARCH 2016
CPP Food Security Assessment Report, South Simbu BY MATTHEW KANUA, CPP DISASTER RESPONSE COORDINATOR ______
SUMMARY
A Church Partnership Program (CPP) Food Security Team visited twelve villages in two districts in Simbu Province over a three-day period in late March 2016 and conducted a rapid assessment of the food supply situation. It is concluded that household food supply is still low, but this is gradually improving in this area. By late March, sweetpotato supply was estimated at about 30 % of normal supply. It is predicted that this will increase gradually until early 2017 when normal food supply should have resumed for the majority of households. This timeline for regaining sufficient household food supply level depends on altitude (elevation of gardens), with communities living at low elevations reaching normal production earlier than communities in higher elevations.
We conclude that, while subsistence food supply in the South Simbu region remains scarce, the food supply is no longer critical. This region need not be considered for food aid. Villagers now require planting material for the fast growing crops of corn, potato, pumpkin and bean. There is adequate local supply of sweetpotato vines.
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INTRODUCTION
Simbu province occupies roughly 6000 km2 and is located in the central highlands of PNG (see map). The province extends from Mt Wilhelm (the highest mountain in PNG) in the north, to the lowlands south of Karimui, in Karimui-Nomane district. It shares common boarders with Eastern Highlands Province (east), Western Highlands Province (west), Madang Province (north), Southern Highlands Province (SW) and Gulf Province (south). This assessment was conducted in two of the six districts in Simbu province – Gumine and Karimui- Nomane districts1.
The area between Karimui and Gumine in the southern part of Simbu Province is generally referred to as “South Simbu” Figure 1. Map of Simbu Province (see map). An assessment in August 2015 organized by the National Disaster Centre (NDC) rated this region in Simbu province at Category 5 for food supply, that is, there was no subsistence food available. A telephone survey conducted by NDC and World Food Programme (WFP) on the continuing impact of the 2015 El Nino drought in February 2016 found that villagers in South Simbu continued to face severe food shortages. The report by
1 The other districts are Chuave, Kerowagi, Kundiawa-Gembogl and Sinasina-Yonggomugl. Chuave, Gumine, Kerowagi, Kundiawa-Gembogl, Sinasina-Yongomugl and Nomane LLG in Karimui-Nomane district are densely populated. Villages and settlements are located between the altitudinal ranges of 1600 – 2000 m asl. The people practice intensive agriculture. Smallholder coffee production is the dominant source of cash income. Karimui (in Karimui-Nomane district) is the relatively sparsely populated part of the province.
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NDC/WFP prompted the CPP to undertake a rapid assessment of the production and supply of sweetpotato and the general livelihood in selected communities2,3.
Sweetpotato is the most important component of household food security in highland village communities. Household diets are supplemented with greens, pumpkin, corn, potato and sometimes purchased food and some meat. A measure of the production and supply of the staple (sweetpotato) will give a good estimate of the available food supply and hence household food security at a given time or location.
The CPP Team led by Matthew Kanua4 visited twelve (12) villages in two districts in South Simbu area over the period 23rd – 25th of March 2016 and conducted a rapid assessment of the food supply situation. The garden inspections consisted of digging up 3 to 5 mounds of planted sweetpotato to record the number of tuberous roots, size of tubers and general growth of gardens. One day (24th March) was spent in meetings with 28 ward councillors from Karimui – Nomane district. Roadside markets from Dom/Kel near Kundiawa to Yobai (Karimui – Nomane District) and Gomgale (Gumine District) were visited, inspected and vendors interviewed. The field assessment and interview was guided by Assessment Form5 (ver 3) to determine the overall severity of drought and recovery of food security and livelihoods. This report presents the findings of the analyses of recovery of food supply to households based on assessment of the production and supply of the staple crop (sweet potato) in the communities.
The region south of Kundiawa may be characterised into three agro-ecological zones:
(a) Karimui Zone (800 – 1200 m asl)
This zone covers the low elevation areas (800 – 1200 m asl) of the Karimui-Nomane district. Most of this zone is in the Karimui sub-district (or LLG area).
(b) High Altitude Zone (1800 – 2400 m asl)
This zone covers all higher ground areas where people settle and do gardening in both Gumine and Karimui-Nomane districts. Gumine district rises from the lowest point at the Wahgi River to Yayo Village (2400 m asl). For the purpose of this study, this zone covers agricultural activities between 1800 and 2400 m asl in Gumine district. Below this zone, agricultural activities are covered under the Wahgi Zone. Land at higher elevations north of Karimui station (all of Nomane sub-district) is covered in this zone (1800 – 2400 m asl), while the low lying areas in Karimui is covered under the Karimui Zone.
2 This is one of three reports conducted to date by CPP- the others are for the Mt Bosavi area in Southern Highlands and Kandep (Enga)/Upper Wage LLG (Hela) areas. We have examined the impact of the 2015 El Nino drought/frost on the food supply, agricultural and livelihoods recovery in a number of sub-regions identified as having food supply issues by NDC, WFP and Dr Mike Bourke. The conclusions drawn are based on sampling a small number of gardens and interviews with farmers (women and men) and community leaders. 3 Team members were: Matthew Kanua (CPP), Ms Asenath Tubian (Disaster Relief Co-ordinator, Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG), Mathias Kin (Independent Consultant) and Ms Margaret Gari (Agriculture Officer, DPI Simbu). This report is based on the observations of all team members. Mathias Kin was involved in assessing impact of drought 1997 in this region and has published his experiences. (http://aciar.gov.au/files/f._the_experience_of_the_1997-98_drought_in_simbu.pdf) 4 The author spent 4 years between 1986 – 1989 conducting research on the soils and farming systems of these districts and has published widely on his research. He also carried out post drought research on sweetpotato lack of tuber formation in 1998. His published research on lack of sweetpotato tuber formation can be found at: http://aciar.gov.au/files/node/306/pr99_pdf_10703.pdf. 5 The “Guideline explains the “what and how” to carry out a disaster impact assessment using the Assessment Form (ver 3). This was prepared by Dr Mike Bourke (he also prepared the Assessment Form) because CPP disaster Coordinators and other partners requested such Explanatory Notes to guide the use of the Assessment Form. It explains what to look out for during the interviews, the types of information to collect, the importance of cross checking information/data to ascertain correctness and watch for exaggerated views expressed by people. Prior to conducting the field assessments, the Assessment Form (ver 3) and the accompanying Guideline was explained to Team members in a debriefing session on 22nd March. Copy of the Forms can be obtained from the author ([email protected]).
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(c) Wahgi Zone (800 - 1000 m asl)
This region starts from Murane just south of Kundiawa and extends south along the Wahgi River. The Kundiawa–Gumine–Yobai road passes through villages at 1600 – 1800 m asl. Communities living near the roads make gardens in lower areas near the Wahgi River (ca. 800 m asl). They also have gardens at higher elevations (1800 - 2400 m asl). Spreading gardens in different altitudinal locations increases the resilience of food supply of communities. In these districts agriculture is limited by slope (steepness or gradient) and altitude (or temperature).
The findings are broken into these three general agro-ecological zones because of the dominance of sweet potato gardening in these altitudinal ranges. The region between 1000 – 1800 m asl not accounted for in the zoning regime, is generally dominated by orchards of marita pandanus fruit, mixed coffee gardens with banana and casuarina trees. Some sweetpotato gardens may also be located here.
KARIMUI ZONE (800 – 1200 m asl)
Whilst nearly 70% of the landmass of Karimui/Nomane district is on lower ground (< 1200 m asl), all the habitable land on its northern border with Gumine, i.e. all of Nomane LLG (or sub-district) is located on higher ground (1200 – 2400 m asl). Because of this altitudinal spread of the district and hence farming practices and cultures, the district is dissected into two zones; the Karimui zone covering low elevation areas (800 – 1200 m asl), is discussed in this section. The higher elevation areas in the district are covered under High Altitude Zone (1800 – 2400 m asl).
The Karimui zone is bounded in the south by the border with Gulf Province and in the west by Southern Highlands Province. The area is accessible only by light aircraft. There is a road currently being constructed from the Gumine side which has reached Oltabai village near Talabakul, on the NW border of the Wahgi River. The most important foods are sweetpotato, cassava and sago supplemented by vegetables from the forest and some fish. This is the most fertile part of the province and the soils are derived predominantly from volcanic ash deposits. Since about 2000, upland rice cultivation has been adopted and planting has expanded to cover the entire lowland communities in the district. Peanut cultivation has also increased.
During the 2015 drought, many households moved to locations where they could find water and bush food. Water was scarce and was a major problem during the drought but water supply is now satisfactory. Sweetpotato was heavily attacked by weevils during the drought. Since the rains have returned, many sweetpotato plantings have failed to form tubers. People are now living on sago (as there is clean water to process the sago starch), cassava, green vegetables, corn and pumpkins.
It appears the main food available to households during the drought is reported to be locally-grown rice. It is estimated that some 500 tonnes of rice are produced in Karimui annually and traded locally. There are 33 rice mills in 17 council wards of which 15 are non-operational due to mechanical problems. None of this rice is exported out of the communities due to lack of roads. Thus there is about 150 – 170 kg of rice produced per household annually6. In November 2015 and again in January 2016 the Member of Parliament supplied 20 cartons of each of oil, Maggie noodles and salt to some communities in lower Karimui (Negabo) but did not supply any rice because he believed that there was sufficient locally grown rice.
The author supplied two rice mills and five bags of rice seeds in 2003 to Karimui High School on the request of the Governor for Simbu. The people were already planting rice in the communities and from about 2003 - 2004 rice farming was taken up rapidly in the district. By 2015, some 15 years later, it
6 I cross-checked the figures with Mr Anton Kaile (former District Administrator of Karimui and an experienced agriculturalist). Mr Kaile cautioned that the figures represented what councillors produced as they managed and owned rice mills. He confirmed that rice production was increasing and suggested an average family may be producing about 80 – 100 kg of milled rice per year.
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appears that rice production has increased so significantly that it provided most food to villagers during the 2015 drought.
The ward councillors reported that about 40 people died in the Karimui area and their deaths can be attributed directly to adverse impacts of the drought 2015. The team was not able to verify these reported deaths with health officials in Kundiawa. Following the rain in the Karimui area since December 2015, food gardens have been planted, and it is anticipated that there will be a food surplus in coming months. Villagers in this zone are quickly recovering and, even though household food supply is still low, food availability is at adequate levels to lower the “at risk” classification from Category 4 or 5 to Category 2 or 3.
HIGH ALTITUDE ZONE (1800 – 2400 m asl)
This zone covers the higher ground areas (1800 – 2400 m asl) in both Gumine and Karimui/Nomane districts7. The communities or villages we visited in these districts extend from Omkolai (north of Gumine station) to Boromil – Gomgale – Yayo (SW of Gumine station), all in Gumine district; and Deri/Dawa – Salt and Nomane (SE of Gumine station) in Karimui/Nomane district. These villages are accessible by road. The most important foods are sweetpotato and vegetables. The soils are of moderate fertility as they are derived from highly weathered Photo 1: Well-formed sweetpotato tubers dug from Peter volcanic ash deposits mixed with shale and organic matter. Dama’s garden, Dirima N0 2 (Yobai) After nine months of drought, the rains arrived in December. No frost occurred in this region, despite the altitude. Some sweetpotato gardens in Yobai, Welteke and Gomgale8 which had been planted pre- drought (March/April 2015) were producing tubers by January 2016. The harvest of these gardens coincided with the onset of rains, that is, in January to March 2016. In public meetings, villagers claimed that they were still very hungry, and no food was available. Garden inspections confirm that the food supply is generally low. Garden inspections indicate that supply of sweetpotato is about 30% of normal supply. Tubers are coming from gardens planted at very high altitude prior to the drought.
A number of deaths were reported at Gomgale, Yayo, Yobai and Mul/Sua in Gumine district. Time constraints curtailed the team from verifying these reported deaths with health officials in Kundiawa. However, at Gomgale the health worker said a number of patients had been referred to Kundiawa hospital for fever and pneumonia in February.
7 Whilst nearly 70% of the landmass in Karimui/Nomane district is in lower ground (800 – 1200 m asl), its northern boarder with Gumine (i.e. particular Nomane LLG) is located on higher ground. On the other hand Gumine district is exclusively in the higher ground, with only a small area in the low elevations along the bank of Wahgi River (separate zone, see Wahgi zone). 8 An old man (Peter Dama, ca 76 years old) was interviewed and we inspected his garden at Dirima N0 2 village (Yobai, 2220 m asl). The garden had sweetpotato planted in stages (or in sequence), where one plot was clearly producing good tubers. He said, that particular crop was planted prior to the drought. In other plantings we unearthed mounds that produced good vine growth but with no tubers. This crop was planted at the onset of rains in December/January, said Dama. A Church Pastor (Joseph Junior, ca 35 years old) was interviewed and his garden inspected at Welteke village (1970 m asl). Joseph’s garden was producing good sized tubers. There was no evidence of excessive vegetative growth and or massive fibrous roots. He said the crop was planted in about April 2015. A women carried a bilum of fresh sweetpotato harvested from her garden to sell at the roadside market. We interviewed her near Gomgale (2200 m asl) and she said this was the first harvest from an earlier planting before the drought, and more harvests would follow when gardens made towards the end of 2015 came into production.
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WAHGI ZONE (800 – 1000 m asl)
The Wahgi Zone covers a narrow valley corridor of good farming area, characterised by fertile alluvial soils mixed with colluvium deposits where extensive gardening is undertaken. This zone extends from Murane (south of Kundiawa) to Gumine Station along both sides of the Wahgi River between the altitudinal ranges of 800 – 1000 m asl. This zone is located exclusively in the Gumine district and Nomane LLG area, but gardens located on the eastern bank of the Wahgi River are in Sinasina - Yonggomugl district. A characteristic feature of this zone is that only gardens are located here (except for temporary shelters constructed to lodge whilst making gardens, no permanent dwelling homes are present) and people reside in villages on higher ground between 1600 – 1800 m asl.
Kundiawa - Gumine is connected by a sealed road that runs through many villages which are located on undulating territory between 1600 and 1800 m asl. The road from Gumine to Salt – Nomane (SE of Gumine station) and from Gumine to Boromil – Gomgale – Yayo (SW of Gumine station) is not sealed and is passable only by 4WD vehicles. The improvements to road infrastructure, and as well as improved communications and increased travel may have caused people to move close to roads. Extensive home or kitchen gardens are made and more gardens are located at lower points near the Wahgi River or higher up in the mountains. The assessment covered a number of communities living along the Kundiawa – Gumine road and also communities in Yobai who have gardens in the Photo 2: Sweetpotato sold at Kel roadside market. valley.
Vendors at Kel and other roadside markets between Dom to Gumine told us that sweetpotato was being grown near the banks of Wahgi River (see photo of sweetpotato sold at Kel). Crops planted between September and October 2015 had received small amounts of rain during the growing period which allowed tuber production. These plantings appear to have escaped the tuberisation problems caused by nitrogen flush and they produced tubers by February-March 2016. However, crops planted later in November to January coincided with the breaking of the drought, failed to produce tubers. The universal complaints by the people was that the majority of the crops planted in November to January failed to form tubers. The current supply of sweetpotato in this zone comes from earlier plantings.
Heaps of sweetpotato tubers at roadside markets was selling for K2 – K5. This is a very high price for a rural location and indicates that supply is still very low. It seems the widespread claims of lack of sweetpotato tuber formation in this region is influenced by cultivar, altitude and farming practice. Our observations and interviews with farmers indicate that some cultivars produced more tuberous roots then other cultivars and this was modified by altitude and whether the sweetpotato crop was mixed cropped or mono-cropped.
DISCUSSION
Since the rains have returned, drinking water is in adequate supply and no water problems were mentioned by anyone interviewed. Some deaths were reported but we could not verify the cause of the reported deaths. There were no alarming health issues reported in this region. Out-migration has been minimal in South Simbu, with no out-migration reported by the councillors from Karimui.
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Generally, the traditional agricultural practise is based on opening up a block of land by clearing and then crops are planted sequentially over several months. Harvesting of the staple sweetpotato is carried out sequentially, that is, tubers are taken from individual plants over several months. Therefore, sequential planting and harvesting greatly influences the supply of food to the households and this is modified by the time-to-maturity of sweetpotato (effect of altitude or temperature) and cultivar (variety) grown.
All farmers interviewed said they planted sweetpotato with other crops including corn, beans and vegetables, but sweetpotato is, by far, the most important food crop. About five sweetpotato cultivars dominated plantings. It seems that some sweetpotato cultivars were more tolerant of high nitrogen levels during the critical growth period than others. This is an important area for research. It is important to note that there are important interactions between cultivars, planting times, elevation, and agronomic practices that influence the availability of sweetpotato to the household. An understanding of these factors can help to better manage post-drought subsistence agriculture to improve household food security.
Garden inspections and interviews carried out with farmers in all villages visited indicate that, since the break of the drought, there is intensive gardening taking place with large areas cleared, and plots are continuously being planted. This means that supply of sweetpotato will increase over the next 12 months. The general trend is summarised in Table 1.
The cycle of planting and supply of sweetpotato (Table 1) to households in the different zones demonstrate that, whilst the availability of the staple maybe low from one zone, other sources may compensate for any deficit in food supply. Apart from sweetpotato, there are others foods, including greens, beans, banana, marita pandanus fruit, karuka nut pandanus and purchased food. Some food is being supplied from kitchen (or home) gardens.
We saw many new gardens being constructed, many gardens nearing harvest, new plots cleared, and some gardens being harvested. Even though household food security is low at the time of our visit, supply is quickly building up.
Photo 3: A newly cut forest garden planted to weetpotato and sugarcane, Paume Village (ca. 2000 m) asl
Our overall conclusion is that the food security of communities is reasonably good in the South Simbu region. This region should be removed from the high priority list of locations which continue to require food aid. Whilst there is adequate local supply of sweetpotato vines across the communities, there is a short supply of the seeds/planting materials of fast growing crops such as corn, potato, pumpkin and beans. Villagers should be assisted with these planting materials.
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Table 1. Cycle of planting and estimated supply of sweetpotato over the next 12 months in southern Simbu Province Agro-ecological Number of Planting Type of Estimated sweetpotato Further comments zone plantings period planting supply in 2015/16 Karimui Zone (800 – 1st planting Dec 2015/Jan Sequential Vegetative growth, no tubers Planted crops failed to form tubers 1200 m asl). 2016 due to nitrogen flush during critical growth period. Sufficient sago supply is now available. High Altitude Zone 1st planting April/May Sequential 30% of usual sweetpotato High altitude, 9-10 months to (1800 – 2400 m asl) 2015 supply now available, some maturity. losses to drought. Wahgi Zone (800 - 1st planting Sept/Oct/Nov Sequential 30% of usual sweetpotato Low altitude (800 m asl) near Wahgi 1000 m asl) 2015 supply now available, some River, crop escaped nitrogen flush at losses to drought. onset of rains (Dec15/Jan16), good sweetpotato crops were produced. Wahgi Zone (800 - 2nd Dec 2015/Jan Sequential Vegetative growth, fibrous Planted crops failed to form tubers 1000 m asl) planting 2016 roots, zero tubers. due to nitrogen flush during critical growth period. High Altitude and 3rd Feb/Mar/Apr Sequential To supply sweetpotato for Estimated 50-60 % of usual Wahgi zones planting 2016 (rotation next 6-12 month. sweetpotato supply available in June within the - Dec 16. Some yield losses due to garden) nitrogen flush.
High Altitude and 4th planting May to Sept Sequential Future crops to be planted to Household food supply returns to Wahgi zones 2016 (rotation supply food in 2017. normal, 100 % supply by about within the January 2017 depending on altitude. garden)
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Acknowledgments
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Many women and men and their families were interviewed, far too many of them to name all of them. To all of them and the many villagers who shared with us their stories and showed me their gardens, I express my gratitude to them.
The field team comprised of Matthew Kanua, Mathias Kin (independent consultant), Margaret Gari (DPI, Simbu Province) and Asenath Tubian (Disaster Response Coordinator, ELCPNG). I thank team members for discussions and for sharing with me their independent observations.
The write up of the Karimui Zone of the study would not have been possible had it not been for the 28 ward councillors who gave of their time to discuss their experiences. All of them are gratefully acknowledged. They are:
Joel Sepeli, Imu Yu, Andrew Omo, Peter Pipe, Ninime Siape, Charles Osele, Kumex Sane, Nawi Binai, Jacob Sio, Mathias Masa, Tulip Guma, Simon Asa, Ken Dili, Peter Some, Felix Kekenai, Johnson Urago, John Pebri, Mathew Holabi, Benjamin Pawa, Johnna Segeli, Joel Honi, Iso Ma, Enoch Kasuka, Peter Tiablu, Gibson Bob, Minami Siki, Iso Hobe, and Samson Hepe.
Other people who provided useful information and gave of their time to discuss the findings were:
Anton Kaile (former District Administrator, Karimui – Nomane Distract), Peter Gelua (District Rural Development Officer, Kilau), Joseph Junior, Peter Dama, Barnabs Hono, Benjamin Ma, Mathew Olapi, Guifriga Waiyo, Kopia Waine, Sine Oltai, Bernard Galmai, Simon Simin, Kuman Aure, Kumai Aina, Mareme Kunal, Kunal Deko, Sil Wile and Ms Kumo Warepe (Women Community Leader).
I express my sincere gratitude to all of them.
Finally, I wish to acknowledge and sincerely thank Dr Mike Bourke, who is the Technical Advisor for this work, for guiding the Team in the field work and for editing and reviewing the report. I spent many hours discussing this assessment as well as others that CPP planned to undertake with him and received his advice. Dr Bourke prepared the Assessment Form (ver 3) and the accompanying Guidelines9 which we used in this survey.
To all of the people mentioned above, and others not mentioned here, who helped us one way or other, I acknowledge your contributions and thank you all most sincerely.
Matthew Kanua CPP Disaster Response Coordinator March 2016
9 See footnote 5 at page 2.
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