MALD initial assessment confirms widespread agricultural damage after Cyclone Maila in Western Province
MALD’s initial assessment says Cyclone Maila caused extensive crop and plantation losses across coastal communities in Western Province, raising urgent food security and recovery tool needs.
The first MALD assessment of areas struck by Tropical Cyclone Maila in Western Province points to widespread damage to farm livelihoods, especially in coastal communities.
Field evaluations and community accounts from Ranogga Island (Saevuke) and Simbo describe a familiar but devastating pattern: powerful winds, storm surges, and saltwater intrusion pushed seawater inland, destroying food gardens, fruit trees, and coconut plantations.. For many households, those crops are not just part of the landscape—they are the basis of everyday meals and the income that comes from selling surplus to markets in places like Gizo and Honiara.
On Ranogga Island, residents say seawater reached far beyond the shoreline.. Storm surges, paired with strong winds, washed through gardens and plantations, wiping out crops that had previously helped families survive the dry months.. Even where vegetation was considered relatively resilient in coastal settings, the force of the cyclone still left many areas stripped of what could be eaten or replanted quickly.
Susan Liton of Saevuke described how the cyclone’s power lingered even after the storm passed.. She said the waves and wind swept away surviving plants, and when the sun returned, vegetation that remained turned brown and died.. Her account reflects a wider reality in coastal recovery: damage is not always visible only during the peak winds.. Often, the full effect shows up in the days that follow, when plants fail to recover and salt continues to affect soil and regrowth.
In Simbo, villagers reported a similarly harsh inland push.. Nestar Iputu said the cyclone intensified gradually before destructive conditions moved into their gardens and plantations, describing seawater being carried inland as something that looked like fog.. Afterward, many trees and plants died, and crops attempted for harvesting rotted rather than ripened normally—an outcome that can compound hunger risks when families are trying to get food back on tables.
The damage is especially severe in communities built along steep coastal cliffs, where geography amplifies storm impact.. Even where villages sit above the immediate beach line, waves driven by strong winds can climb to high elevations and leave salt deposits behind.. Those deposits can reduce soil fertility and make replanting more difficult, delaying the return of both nutrition and household income.
Food availability remains limited, with families depending on short-term coping sources such as rice, fallen bananas, and seafood gathered from nearby reefs.. For households with young children, the loss of fertile gardens and fruit trees raises immediate concerns about nutrition, not just hunger.. When farming calendars break, recovery can become a long stretch of makeshift meals while new planting materials and tools are gathered.
Communities also face uncertainty about economic recovery, particularly where coconut plantations were a primary income stream.. Chris Boti of Simbo emphasized the urgency, warning that within two months gardens may be completely destroyed with nothing edible left.. He described coconut trees turning red and brown after the cyclone, suggesting ongoing stress from salt and wind damage.. In a farming economy where smallholders rely on steady production, such losses can affect school expenses, basic household needs, and the ability to purchase replacement seeds or tools.
MALD Extension Services Department Director Andrew Melenolu said saltwater intrusion and land erosion are major obstacles to recovery, noting that washed-away land and salt-affected conditions will make replanting—particularly for coconuts—slow.. He pointed to the need for seedlings and technical support, with recommendations that recovery efforts include mass production and distribution of fruit tree seedlings such as mango, guava, and citrus.. MALD has also indicated it is supporting communities with chainsaw distribution to help clear fallen trees from villages and gardens.
For families, those tools are more than equipment—they are the difference between waiting for land to clear and restarting cultivation.. Chainsaws help remove debris that blocks access to plots, while hoes, garden knives, and files can support land preparation and replanting.. With discussions of a draft budget under the livelihood sector committee for agriculture recovery and food relief supplies sitting at around SBD$45 million, the immediate question for many households is whether support will arrive quickly enough to protect the next growing cycle and reduce the time spent relying on improvised food sources.
While some surviving plants are already being replanted, recovery will depend on how effectively salt impacts can be managed and how quickly communities can restart farming.. The cyclone’s agricultural damage is a reminder that disasters don’t end when the wind stops: soil conditions, damaged plantations, and broken food systems can keep affecting daily life for months.