Kava Dieback: A Silent Threat Demanding a United Response

“If we lose kava to disease, we lose far more than an export commodity — we lose community resilience, traditional knowledge, and a vital bridge between the Pacific and the world.”

The Emerging Crisis

Across the Pacific, kava farmers are raising a growing alarm. Entire fields that once stood lush and strong are now showing troubling signs of decline: yellowing leaves, soft rotting stems, and eventual collapse of once-healthy plants. What many have referred to as Kava Dieback Disease is turning out to be something far more complex — not a single infection, but a broader syndrome rooted in the weakening of entire agricultural systems.

Understanding Kava Dieback Syndrome

For years, the Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV) has been considered the primary cause of dieback. While CMV remains a key factor, mounting evidence and consensus show that the problem is multifaceted. In addition to CMV, nematode infestations, soil exhaustion, and the overuse of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides all contribute to a gradual breakdown in plant health. The result is what should properly be called Kava Dieback “Syndrome” — a web of interconnected stressors that together leave kava more vulnerable to disease, pests, and climatic variation.

This is not merely a plant pathology issue; it reflects how agricultural practices have drifted away from traditional systems that once maintained the ecological balance on which kava depends.

A Journey Across Three Countries: Seeing Kava at Different Stages of Development

My recent travels from Fiji, to the Solomon Islands, to Vanuatu offered more than a series of meetings — they revealed a moving, ground-level picture of kava at three distinct stages of industry development, each reflecting different pressures, strengths, and vulnerabilities. Taken together, these experiences underscored an important truth: dieback is not simply a pathogen problem. It is a systems problem.

In Fiji, where kava is the country’s most valuable agricultural export, farmers are cultivating at scale and often under intense production pressure. This has led in many places to declining soils, shorter fallow periods, and heavier reliance on inputs — conditions where CMV, nematodes, and other stressors find easy footholds. The more the agro-ecosystem is simplified, the more fragile it becomes.

The Solomon Islands, meanwhile, is in a phase of rapid expansion. Farmers are excited, land availability is high, and the industry is growing quickly — but the systems supporting that growth, such as nurseries, drying technology, and extension services, are still catching up. While dieback is not yet a major issue there, the vulnerabilities that Fiji is now experiencing are reminders of what can emerge when production expands faster than ecosystem stewardship.

And in Vanuatu — the birthplace of kava — I witnessed some of the most resilient systems in the region. On Espiritu Santo and Efate, farmers continue to cultivate kava through traditional agroforestry systems, mixing it with bananas, taro, Gliricidia, and a diversity of shade crops. Even where CMV is present, these fields remain remarkably healthy. The soils are alive, the microclimate is stable, and ecological diversity provides natural buffering against disease and pests.

Across all three countries, the pattern was unmistakable:
Where the farming system is healthy, kava is healthy. Where the system is strained, kava is vulnerable — regardless of whether CMV is present or not.

This is why dieback must be understood as a syndrome born of system stress, not merely the presence of a virus. The insight shared by farmers, researchers, and exporters across my travels was consistent: kava thrives when the farm itself is treated as an ecosystem, not a factory. Soil organic matter, biodiversity, shade, airflow, clean planting material, and natural pest regulation are not optional extras — they are the foundations of resilience.

The path forward requires helping farmers see their farms not just as fields of kava, but as living systems that can either nourish or weaken the crop’s natural defenses. Where agroecological conditions are restored, kava regains its strength. Where they decline, dieback takes hold.

A Cultural and Economic Treasure at Risk

Kava is not just a crop — it is a cornerstone of Pacific identity, social life, and spirituality. It carries stories, traditions, and values from one generation to the next. From the yaqona ceremonies of Fiji to the nakamal quiet kava drinking and kava-bar gatherings of Vanuatu and to the emerging kava social groups in Solomon Islands, kava embodies the fabric of Pacific life and community. Its roots connect families, villages, and nations, and its exports connect the Pacific to the world.

Yet across several of those island nations, those roots are now under threat. Outbreaks of dieback syndrome have been reported mostly in Fiji, but also to a lesser extent in Vanuatu, Tonga, and Samoa, with symptoms spreading faster than local systems can respond. What has become increasingly clear is that the disease spreads most rapidly in degraded agroecosystems — fields stripped of biodiversity, tilled too frequently, or chemically overtreated to boost short-term yields. When kava is cultivated in isolation, in new modern " commercial " ways , after a few cycles the plant’s natural defenses weaken. The soil microbiome, the invisible network of bacteria, fungi, and organic matter that supports healthy roots, begins to collapse. The result is a fragile system where even minor additional stress factors whether viral, pest pressures, or dry spell can trigger widespread failure.

Lessons from Vanuatu

By contrast, traditional and organic agroforestry systems offer natural protection. During my recent visit to Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu, I visited farms where kava thrives under the shade of bananas, taro, Gliricidia, and other companion crops. These diversified systems , with regular fallow periods, maintain soil health, retain moisture, support beneficial insects, and suppress or limit nematodes' outbreak . Even where CMV is known to exist, dieback remains rare, which is a testament to the resilience that ecological diversity provides. The lesson is clear: where the soil is alive, kava stays alive.

Field Realities in Fiji

In Fiji, the situation presents a different set of challenges that came into clearer focus during my recent visit to Viti Levu. Through discussions with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Waterways, the Ministry of Trade, the University of the South Pacific, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, and several exporters, we worked together to understand how dieback is evolving and affecting major growing areas.

What emerged from these conversations was a shared understanding that the issue is multilayered. Many stakeholders described dieback not only as a viral threat, but as a symptom of broader shifts in farming systems—declining soil health, shortened fallows, and the increased strain placed on land under more intensive production. Rather than pointing to any single cause, the discussions reflected a collective recognition that soil restoration, improved fertility management, and revisiting some traditional mixed-cropping approaches may be important elements of long-term resilience.

There was also strong interest in exploring a more coordinated approach to clean planting material. Stakeholders spoke about the value of a nursery network capable of producing CMV disease-free planting stock, especially for farmers re-establishing plots in new areas. Pairing this with practical, farmer-led training on soil health, composting, and agroforestry-based methods was widely seen as a constructive pathway worth considering together.

Returning to Resilient Systems

Farmers need renewed agricultural extension support and guidance to transition back to resilient systems that align with both science and tradition. Mixed cropping, organic composting, natural pest control, and appropriate fallow rotations are not old-fashioned ideas — they are the foundation of long-term sustainability. These methods, tested over centuries, are precisely what the modern kava industry must return to if it is to protect the future of this vital crop.

A Regional Challenge Demanding a Regional Response

Kava dieback cannot be fought with a single solution, nor can it be contained within national borders. It is a regional challenge that requires a regional response. The way forward begins with collaboration. Governments, research institutions, exporters, and farmers must work together to implement an integrated approach that includes coordinated surveillance and data sharing, propagation of clean virus-free planting materials, revitalized farmer training programs that emphasize soil health and biodiversity, collaborative research connecting plant pathology, nematology, and traditional ecological knowledge, and public awareness campaigns to help farmers and communities recognize the early signs of dieback syndrome and adopt preventative measures.

This approach must also prioritize agroecological restoration — rebuilding soil organic matter, diversifying crops, and reducing chemical dependency. Only by restoring balance to the farming system can we restore the health of the kava plant.

A Call for Unity and Action

The Kava Coalition is calling for a unified regional response to kava dieback syndrome — one that bridges science and tradition, public and private sectors, local farmers and international partners. Governments, exporters, researchers, kava bar owners, and consumers all share a stake in this issue. Protecting kava is not just about protecting a crop; it is about protecting livelihoods, culture, and connection. The bowl that unites us must also be the bowl that rallies us.

Kava’s global future depends on protecting its roots — literally and culturally. Through coordinated action, knowledge sharing, and a return to sustainable farming systems, we can ensure that kava continues to thrive in the Pacific for generations to come.

An Invitation to Collaborate

The Kava Coalition invites all members of the kava community — farmers, exporters, researchers, and advocates — to participate in the Working Group on Kava Dieback Disease. This platform will coordinate regional efforts, share data, and develop best practices for disease prevention and ecosystem restoration.

Together, we can preserve this sacred plant, restore the resilience of our soils, and safeguard the livelihoods and heritage it supports.