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Disaster agency stockpiles food in Central Papua over famine concerns
The agency has sent thousands of packages of staple foods and ready-to-eat meals, bottled water, tents, mattresses and blankets, according to BNPB spokesperson Abdul Muhari in a press briefing on Monday.
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Residents of Amuma district in Yahukimo regency, Papua Highlands unload humanitarian aid from a cargo airplane at an airstrip on Oct. 26, 2023. (Antara/HO/Humas BNPB)
T
he National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has begun operations to send emergency food supplies to a stockpile in Central Papua amid concerns of a hunger crisis caused by cold weather in the highlands of the province.
The agency has sent thousands of packages of staple foods and ready-to-eat meals, bottled water, tents, mattresses and blankets, according to BNPB spokesperson Abdul Muhari in a press briefing on Monday.
The food supply from Jakarta will be stored in a warehouse in Sinak district, Puncak regency in the province to allow for a quicker distribution if famine hits the remote region. Authorities fear that several areas across Papua may face crop failures this month due to extreme temperatures.
“We need to send food supplies now because July, August and early September are the time when frost usually hits Papua,” Abdul said. “We don’t want to act too late and only respond after famine strikes the region.
He added that the disaster agency was also planning to send hundreds of food packages to Agandugume district, a remote village located some 31 kilometers from Sinak.
Read also: Government to introduce superior tuber varieties to address famine in Papua
Last year, Agandugume was hit by a food crisis due to prolonged drought-induced crop failure, with around 7,500 people affected according to a BNPB estimate. At least six people, including a baby, died with the cause thought to be dehydration and diarrhea.
The region was hit by cold weather and a shortage of rain, which killed taro and yam grown in the region. Some residents were reportedly forced to eat the spoiled crops, causing them to fall ill with diarrhea. At that time, authorities struggled to distribute food aid to the famine-stricken districts due to its remote location and challenging terrain.
Unlike most areas in tropical Indonesia, frosts often hit the Puncak region, where temperatures can drop below zero degrees Celsius. The regency, whose name means “peak” in Indonesian, is located 1,400 meters above sea level in Jayawijaya, the country’s tallest mountain range.
Efforts to build food warehouses in Sinak and Agandugume have been hampered due to ongoing conflicts with local armed criminal groups (KKB). The construction of a warehouse in Sinak has finished, but the work for a stockpile in Agandugume only recently started after security forces took over the region from KKB in July.
