Efforts are underway to mitigate a significant threat to kava production and export. Plans are being implemented to reduce the size of large kava farms due to a dieback disease exacerbated by deforestation. This viral disease, caused by the cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), has impacted kava-growing areas across the Pacific.
In Fiji, the first documented cases of this disease were observed in 1934 alongside large-scale farming practices that lacked necessary precautions. Research has shown that the kava dieback disease caused major disruptions in the Northern Division from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2021 to 2023. During these times, the price of kava surged as export markets opened, prompting farmers to engage in extensive planting. This led to significant deforestation and a shift from traditional mixed-cropping methods to intensive mono-cropping systems.
To combat the kava dieback issue, local initiatives have intensified efforts, including a four-day training session focused on soil and plant health. The workshop, led by Pacific Community soil scientist Rohit Lal at the Friendly North Inn in Labasa, aimed to educate farmers in the Northern Division about the importance of maintaining healthy plants and soil. Lal noted that between 2003 and 2007, there was a decline in kava dieback cases, likely due to lessons learned from previous outbreaks and a decrease in export markets, which caused kava prices in Taveuni to drop from FJ$50 per kilogram in 2002 to FJ$20 per kilogram in 2004. Consequently, farmers reduced their operations, shifting from large-scale plantations to smaller plots containing about 1,000 plants.
However, the recent rise in kava prices has led to renewed mass planting. Lal cautioned that without taking proper precautions, large-scale farming could cause a resurgence in kava dieback cases. He emphasized that prevention is key and suggested that the optimal way to cultivate kava is within a traditional multi-cropping system set in a partially cleared forest, inter-planting kava with various other crops and growing it beneath a tree canopy.
Symptoms of the disease can be spread through infected node cuttings from diseased plants and can present in kava plants and surrounding weeds. Initial signs often include leaf mosaic, yellowing, curling, and puckering of the youngest leaves on a stem.
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