Vanuatu Brings Back Ancient Taro to Fight Climate Change

When Tropical Cyclone Pam destroyed 96% of Vanuatu's crops in 2015, villages with traditional taro gardens had food while others waited for aid. It was a wake-up call for this tiny Pacific nation of 83 islands.

Richard Rojo wades into a shallow pool on Espiritu Santo Island, carefully planting water taro stems into the muddy earth. The 40-year-old subsistence farmer is part of a growing movement to bring back indigenous farming practices that kept ni-Vanuatu people fed for millennia.

Taro, a root vegetable with heart-shaped leaves, has been cultivated in Vanuatu for so long that hundreds of unique varieties evolved on these islands. But in recent decades, farmers switched to easier crops like cassava and relied more on imported rice and tinned foods that require cash to buy.

Climate change made that shift dangerous. In the past decade, cyclones Harold, Judy, and Kevin hit hard, contaminating water sources and leaving islands completely cut off from food shipments for weeks.

Vincent Lebot, a crop researcher with the French Agricultural Research Centre, found that households now plant only one or two taro gardens compared to five to eight gardens in 1980. More than half the country's food is now purchased rather than grown, leaving families vulnerable when storms strike.

The Ripple Effect spreads beyond individual families. Villages with thriving taro crops don't just feed themselves during disasters. They share with neighboring communities whose gardens failed, creating a natural food security network that no aid shipment can match.

The revival effort comes as Vanuatu leads 100 countries in a landmark climate case at the International Court of Justice. In July 2025, the court ruled in their favor, recognizing that failing to limit greenhouse gas emissions breaches international law.

Rojo's three-month-old taro plantation represents both past and future. These ancient farming techniques, refined over thousands of years, are proving more resilient than modern industrial agriculture in the face of extreme weather.

The movement shows how traditional knowledge isn't just about preserving culture. Sometimes the old ways offer the most practical solutions to new problems, especially when those problems involve feeding your family through the next storm.

As climate challenges grow worldwide, Vanuatu's taro gardens offer hope that communities can adapt and thrive by looking backward and forward at the same time.