Problems Of Food And Population In Pacific

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27990, 9 June 1956, Page 2

Problems Of Food And Population In Pacific

IVt H'S K)R WOMEN

/The problems of the Pacific, whatever they are. do not exist in isolation, but are part and parcel of a regional problem.” said Mr W. B Johnston, lecturer in geography at Canterbury University College, when speaking at the monthly meeting of the Christchurch area group of the Pan-Pacific and South-east Asian Women’s Association last evening. Mr Johnston gave a broad outline of the food and population problems in the Pacific, with special emphasis on Fiji. Samoa, and the Cook Islands. The problems, he said, were caused by the wide variety of soils which limited productivity and the marked decline in population in some of the islands through the impact of civilisation.

“The native has lost his prestige, and if you destroy this you are upsetting his attitude to life. They are living between two worlds: the one destroyed and the one to be born and it is our obligation to help them to adjust themselves.” Mr Johnston said.

A new trend in housing in Rarotonga was the use of coconut palm leaves for thatching the roofs oi native houses, Mr Johnston said. Formerly, they used a leaf that lasted up to 10 years. Coconut leaves lasted about two years, and this meant that the roofs had to be frequently rethatched and that the yields from the coconut trees were decreasing. Hense the economy of the island was affected. In Suva, Apia, Honolulu, and other towns, natives were crowding from the country villages looking for employment. Because of the tribal ownership system, a native could not be replaced when he left the country for the town. This in turn affected an island/s food production. Shipping and trade problems also affected the islands’ economy. The immensity of the Pacific, the scattered situation.of the islands, and in some instances poor harbour facilities did not encourage better export and import trade.