Farmers in Markham Valley should start preparing to mitigate drought

By Doreen Philip

The author is currently enrolled in Master of Arts in Communication and Advocacy at James Madison University in Virginia. All views expressed are solely my own.

Drought affects food production, fresh water quality for consumption and livelihoods.

The 1997 climate-induced drought was one of the strongest and worst scenarios in the memory of Papua New Guinea (PNG). It had detrimental effects on food and water security and wellbeing of people.  In October 6, 2023, Post Courier reported on the occurrence of El-Niño as predicted by the PNG National Weather Service. This article by Post Courier was accompanied with warning issued to government, businesses and people on disaster preparedness. This alert means that the wet season period will be shorter and extreme dry conditions will worsen in May 2024 and is likely to continue to 2025. Farmers and their families are vulnerable and should take actions now to manage and mitigate this risk at the rural level.

Climate variability and change has increased the occurrence of drought in PNG. Markham district located is one of the dry areas of the country and is vulnerable to this hazard.  

One of the important steps that could be used in mitigating food security risk, is ‘sago storage’ by farmers in high water tabled areas and villages such as Madzam and Marangits. Every household with access to sago should bring a bag each to be stored at the councillor or a trusted leader’s house to manage.  Farmers should plant new sago to replace one that is being harvested.  

Additionally, farmers in Markham should also start planting lesser yams

scientifically known as ‘dioscorea esculenta’ and commonly known as ‘mami’ or ‘ufri’ in Adzera. After these yams are harvested every household should contribute a bag to a storing house. Unlike the other specie of yam, lesser yams can be stored for a long time in a storage hut.

This food storage practice can also be applied to the cultivation of rice for sale and for consumption.

Moreover, farmers should also grow drought varieties of sweet potatoes, bananas and cassava alongside traditional crops. All farmers from the three local level areas of Umi Adzera, Leron Wantoat and Onga Waffa should work with leaders of farm cooperatives to kick-start this resilience campaign.

In addition, women farmers should start growing green amaranth as a health food and for seeds for new gardens. Locally known as aupa. Green amaranth is a traditional kumu grown from seeds. Studies have proved amaranth to be a nutrient-rich plant with high source of manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, iron and antioxidants that may improve brain function and reduce inflammation. Amaranth has shallow root systems and it is easy to grow them from seeds. Generally, amaranth does not need a lot of water so long as the final destination is moist.  They can also grow the purple amaranth with other traditional greens and vegetables using a hybrid approach of indigenous agricultural techniques incorporated with creativity, innovative and sustainable practices to enhance farmers’ capacity to meet their nutritional demand.

Limited rainfall affects water security with impacts on crop growth causing significant losses in agriculture yields, disrupting food production on farms and sustenance of aquaculture ecosystems. This is a pressing concern because most farmers rely on groundwater and wells. A fish farmer from Ragiampun village informed the author of how groundwater became insufficient for tilapia fish to survive which caused disruption to the family’s protein supplement. To address low water table and soil porosity, this farmer plans to raise tilapia in a tank with constant water supply. Solar panels will be used to convert sunlight into energy to heat the materials inside creating condensation where the water is collected in a reservoir tank for supply to the farm.

While some farmers have access to irrigation, insufficient water availability could increase challenges for farmers to cultivate their lands. Installation of water tanks is a possible solution to manage the issue of water scarcity for consumption and other usage.

All farmers should use mulch to retain moisture in the soil and also plant native and drought tolerant grass, ground covers, shrubs or trees in their gardens. It is useful to practice crop rotation.

For sustainable livestock, farmers should rear drought-adaptive cattle breed such as Brahman, Bradford and Sunta Gethrudie to manage pasture and ensured continued production during dry period.

These local interventions are important steps towards preparing for drought. The long-term solution to climate change and water scarcity will require commitment from the government, communities and organisations to build climate-proof infrastructures to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change. Building the capacity of communities demonstrates a commitment to mitigate the impacts of climate change with evidence that farmers grow food to feed the population and to contribute to a greater effort for mankind as stewards to safeguard the environment.