Vanuatu's opposition leader Ralph Regenvanu has urged Australia not to grow kava.
This comes amid revelations that there are plans in Queensland to grow kava which up to now has been banned, as a crop and as an import in Australia.
Regenvanu told RNZ Pacific that if Australia grows kava there will be a large market but Vanuatu does not have much quantity to export.
He said Australia is a friend of Vanuatu as they always said but they must not allow commercial planting and production of kava because it will badly affect Vanuatu.
The chairman of Kava Farmers in Port Vila Jean Guillaume Sanibo also told Radio NZ Pacific that it would be a disaster for people in the rural areas.
He said kava is the main source of income for the people in the village and they use only manpower to grow their kava, whereas Australia will utilize machines with massive land in comparison to the small islands.
He appeals to the Vanuatu government to defend the interest of small kava farmers in the country.
[Source: RadioNZ]
