Fijians have been urged to minimize or avoid transporting green Kava plants from one place to another due to the current Kava dieback disease affecting most farmers around Fiji.

Assistant Minister for Agriculture Tomasi Tunabuna stresses the economic and cultural impact this will have on Fijian communities if not seriously considered, as there is no cure to completely eradicate the virus.

He warns that at the current rate, Fijians will face challenges with certain iTaukei traditional ceremonies and protocols that involve the use of green kava, especially in villages.

Tunabuna adds the economic impact could be worse than COVID-19.+

“So I believe it’s best to always have a proper discussion on this in our villages. Think of our future generation. Currently, it has affected those large-scale Yaqona farmers but not yet had an impact on the small-scale farms, but it’s on us on how well we planned out and avoided transporting green Kava plants around places.”

Tunabuna adds that the concern is that symptoms of the dieback disease -such as leaves turning yellow and plants dying out suddenly – will only be visible once the virus has spread to other plants.

The Agriculture Ministry is currently visiting farmers and villagers in all 14 provinces to raise awareness about the symptoms, signs, and effects of preventing the spread of Kava dieback disease.