VIVAnews | The famine which hit Yahukimo Regency, Papua, was triggered by harvest failure. As a result, many people died with empty stomach.

Harvest Failure Causes Yahukimo Famine

There were people who did not eat anything in three to four days.

Senin, 14 September 2009, 15:01 WIB

Umi Kalsum, Eko Huda S

The harvest failure was picked up as a reason by Yahukimo Regent Ones Pahabol during a press conference on Monday, September 14. "We saw with our own eyes that harvest failure has led them to death," said Ones.

He said the failure took place in 25 districts. There were people who did not eat anything in three to four days. "We found people who were dead with empty stomach," he said.

Geographically, Yahukimo is an area of extreme weather. Around 80 percent of its inhabitants live remote areas in the mountainous districts. They can only produce sweet potatoes as their main meal. "The people of Yahukimo have no other agricultural products but sweet potatoes," he said.

As a mountainous region, Yahukimo is a cold territory. People must prepare land five to six months earlier to start planting. According to him, the people have made all the calculations needed to avoid them from experiencing food shortage like they did four years ago. "Prolonged rain caused the root to shrink and rot," he said.

In order to handle the disaster, Yahukimo Regent held a meeting with the central government. The meeting decided that a team will be deployed to the region to verify the needed materials as well as to distribute food.

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Translated by: Bonardo Maulana Wahono