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Food Security in the Pacific

Enhancing climate-resilient food production for island communities

September 14^th, 2015

The world over, food production faces an unprecedented threat from climate change. On small islands, agriculture faces unique, additional challenges.

Fertile coastal plains, where farming is often concentrated, are also on the front line for sea level rise and coastal erosion. As the sea encroaches, soils are becoming salty and waterlogged. On very small islands, and especially low-lying atolls, moving farms further inland is not an option. On larger islands, moving inland and uphill often means destroying forests, with environmental consequences, such as soil erosion and stream sedimentation, which exacerbate the problem.

Aquaculture (rearing mangrove crabs and clams) in Palau

Narrow atoll fringe, Republic of the Marshall Islands

Climate-resilient Food Production

Improving the resilience of food production systems is one of the three primary focus areas of the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) programme.

Fiji, Palau, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands have been working to improve the resilience of their food production systems. These efforts include improving sustainable farming methods, introducing climate-resilient crops, and training in traditional food processing and preservation.

PACC Project Manager discussing natural resource management with local community member

Food Insecurity

Traditional Pacific crops such as taro and cassava are threatened by changing rainfall patterns and salt-water intrusion into previously fertile land. For the many Pacific families living a subsistence lifestyle, the failure of staple crops is catastrophic, and in places where agricultural production is above subsistence level, the resultant earnings are often crucial for clothing and schooling children, and purchasing supplementary foods to ensure a healthy, varied diet.

Supported by UNDP and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the PACC project is the first major climate change adaptation initiative in the Pacific region, with demonstration projects in 14 Pacific island countries piloting on-the-ground adaptation solutions.

Introduction of salt-tolerant crops in Palau

Introducing permaculture practices in the Solomon Islands

Drought tolerant crop varieties of taro, cassava, and sweet potato in Papua New Guinea

Sustenance

In Nausori, Fiji, increased rainfall and flooding is a major problem, therefore project activities focussed on upgrading drainage systems, and trialling and demonstrating water-tolerant crop varieties.

In Palau, the project had four main areas of activity: lowland taro production, upland agroforestry (growing diverse crops and tree crops), aquaculture (rearing mangrove crabs and clams) and food processing. The construction of dikes in Palau is intended to limit intrusion of salt water caused by rising sea-levels, which is supported by trials of saltwater-resistant taro varieties.

As part of the drive to increase local food production, reduce reliance on imported foods, and address the non-communicable disease crisis, the project is also promoting growing and eating local foods, contributing to a ‘Go local’ campaign to promote healthy eating.

In Papua New Guinea, drought tolerant crop varieties of taro, cassava, and sweet potato are being made more readily available through seed distribution. The team has also developed a low-tech, low-cost irrigation system which the farmers can easily set up and manage.

An integrated approach in the Solomon Islands aims to implement permaculture practices to low lying areas including raising plant beds, mangrove replanting, rainwater harvesting, and soil improvement programmes.

Women in Nausori, Fiji, preparing taro for international export

THE PACC PROGRAMME

Climate change threatens the achievement of all development goals. One solution is to mainstream climate change into the development process, that is, integrate climate risks into development planning processes and decision making. The PACC Programme is promoting mainstreaming at all levels, within the country projects and regionally, at the community level through to the highest policy level.

Since it began in 2009 the programme has laid the groundwork for more resilient Pacific communities that can cope with climate variability today, and climate change tomorrow.