What Is the Significance of the Kava Drink?
The yaqona drink has been considered a traditional I-taukei drink used in cultural ceremonies. This is due to their rich culture and pride. However, the plant in which the drink is derived from may prove to have more uses than that. One of these uses includes its economic potential as a means of gaining profitable income. The issue being raised is the possibility of this product competing with superior nations in agriculture.
A research report conducted by R. I, Brown discussed the relative significance of Kava in Fiji as a cash crop. He and his colleagues found that it was used to prepare an intoxicating, nonalcoholic beverage made by mixing ground or masticated roots and stem bases with water. The drink is commonly regarded in society not only as a cultural heritage but as a means for economic gain.
In my city of Lautoka, there lays a settlement popularly referred to as Waiyavi, where many local canteens sell their fair share of Yaqona, also known as Kava or ‘Piper Methysticum’ in Latin. This product is an agricultural plant that has recently been implemented in my neighborhood as a cash crop. Originally, the plant was stringed as a cultural ceremonial drink and only reserved for special occasions. However, these days it has become quite a popular social beverage. The people in the area I reside in have decided to use this common social drink as a method of earning income to provide for their families. And as a result, major companies have invested in this product in hopes of generating profit.
The food crops in the Pacific must be more scientifically based if it is to compete against agriculture in larger countries. This has many implications. It requires a great increase in the level of education of farmers. It also requires upgrading of extension services and adaptive research. Local food crops are sufficient for regional production but will need to evolve in order to compete on the global spectrum of agriculture.
Read more: Smallholder Modes of Agricultural Production in the South Pacific: Prospects for Development
As mentioned earlier, there has been a radical shift in the use of the Yaqona plant, transitioning from a ceremonial drink to an economic phenomenon. The plant is not unique to the island nation of Fiji yet its use here is especially significant as compared to other regional countries. This is primarily due to its existence as a cash crop for local farmers and also its exportation to other regions as well as foreign countries. Some skeptics from the church I used to attend questioned the authenticity of the drink being rendered questionable if reduced to a mere drink sold for common consumption. Thankfully, the village chieftains in the island of Kadavu were addressed before the drink was implemented in its post-modern use
Additionally, a study regulated by J. B. Hardaker found that production per hectare on small farms in the region is generally lower than that achieved on large-scale plantations. A change from small-scale semi-subsistence agriculture to large-scale commercial production would be likely to increase total production but at a considerable social cost in terms of loss of income for the smallholders whose land would be alienated. Different solutions will be needed to address the different types of physical and socio-economic circumstances.
The Yaqona drink is considered a material representation of the I-taukei culture. Many tourists who visit the nation of Fiji are treated to a drink as a special treat in memorial of their time spent here. Important celebrities and even Royalty are no exception. Everyone of societal significance has been invited to consume this cultural beverage. My people in Fiji are proud of this plant and are eager to see it grow as a cash crop throughout the globe. The native islanders themselves are renowned for their sense of patriarchy and amazingly humble and happy personality; this has further improved the hype surrounding the plant.
Moreover, a research report constructed by Addinsall Cherise and other scholars suggested the linkage between agriculture and tourism as a solution in tackling the pressure placed upon smallholders. Agro-tourism could effectively contribute to the enhancement and sustainability in the livelihoods of smallholders in the South Pacific. Agro-tourism strengthens the linkages between tourism and agriculture while fostering sustainability principles.
In addition to the cultural use of the plant, the local community in Waiyavi proposed a different approach to the product; the mass production of it as a dietary snack, for medical purposes, and even for exportation to foreign nations. I believe that this may be used to generate a major source of earnings for the country as a whole in terms of capital gain. The people will have more employment opportunities if factories are established to cater to this product, and cultural experts may also be invited to share their opinions regarding the crop to make sure that it is not being used disrespectfully or illicitly.
Furthermore, a journal article published by John Overturn addresses the considerable confusion about whether agriculture in the South Pacific is defined as a communal sense of ownership or a matter of individual ownership. The study concentrated on the small group of people who toil the land and/or own it, who seemed to transition from a traditional village ideology of communalism to independent galala individualism. The present lack of distinction between communal ownership and individual ownership has led to a dichotomy.
Read more: A FIJIAN PEASANTRY: GALALA AND VILLAGERS
Unfortunately, the issue being raised was the consequence of trying to compete with core countries on the economic spectrum. Perhaps, if the nation took into consideration the application of scientific methods of agriculture then the product may be able to supersede its present capability. Although I do not consume the drink personally, I can understand its cultural and economic significance.
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