Effects of drought spread to more eastern provinces
JAKARTA (JP): Food shortages caused by a prolonged lack of rain are spreading to more regions in less-developed eastern Indonesia.
Jayawijaya regency in Irian Jaya, a number of villages in Kutai regency in East Kalimantan, East Sumba regency in East Nusa Tenggara, and Atabae in East Timor are all facing the same plight.
Wally D. Wiley, project manager of Mission of Aviation Fellowship (MAF) in Jayapura told The Jakarta Post yesterday that many people in Jayawijaya were malnourished and were in need of food relief.
"The situation in the regency has worsened since many people living in villages located more than 2,000 meters above sea level are suffering from malaria," he said.
He said MAF would continue to supply the regency with staple foodstuffs for the next three months until the rainy season came and the people could harvest their crops.
Rain has already come to some areas and farmers, especially those in the Baliem Valley, have started planting their fields with vegetables, sweet potatoes, cassava and bananas.
The regency is among the worst affected by last year's drought that has continued into this year in many areas. The local authorities say at least 420 Jayawijaya residents have died of malnutrition and other drought-related illnesses.
Lukas Mbadi Kaborang, the regent of East Sumba in East Nusa Tenggara, said yesterday that 33 of the 101 villages in the regency were facing starvation because of the failed corn and rice harvests following the prolonged dry season that began last June.
"Upon receiving reports from heads of subdistricts about the food shortages, we immediately went to the affected villages and found that the reports were true," he said, as quoted by Antara.
Lukas said that of the 33 villages, five in Panguha Lodu subdistrict were the worst affected because all plants there had dried up.
He said the regency administration had already sent rice stocks and carried out a labor-intensive project to employ workers in the subdistrict.
Propose
He also said he would propose to the central government the construction of reservoirs and a system to irrigate rice fields during future dry seasons.
More than 20 villages in two subdistricts in Kutai regency, East Kalimantan, are also facing food shortages due to the extended dry season and forest fires in the regency.
Sgt. Major Yudha of the Tenggarong military district told the Post yesterday that the villages, located in Muara Ncalong and Muara Bangkal subdistricts, had run out of food stocks because of the fires and the drought.
"People cannot farm their land because of the fires raging in the forest and farming land in the subdistricts. Besides, people can no longer mine gold because all the rivers in the region have dried up in the drought," he said.
He said the local government and the military district were facing difficulties transporting food to the affected villages because rivers -- the main transportation means from the regency capital Tenggarong to the villages -- had dried up.
He said food aid might be transported by helicopters.
Kutai Regent H.M. Sulaiman was not available for comment yesterday.
About 5,000 people in four coastal villages in Atabae subdistrict in Bobonaro, East Timor, are reportedly facing starvation after a dry spell that began in January.
Foreign aid is however reaching many affected areas in eastern Indonesia.
The Australian government has donated A$4 million (US$2.55 million) through five non-governmental organizations operating in the affected region and also handed over A$3.4 million to help cope with the effects of the drought in Irian Jaya.
MAF has spent Rp 50 million (US$5,800) on transporting staple foods and medicine in the drought-affected Jayawijaya regency and the British embassy has pledged 300,000 (US$495,000) in relief and medical programs. (rms)