Monthly average rainfall has fallen below 50 millilitres, and government agencies have stepped in to avoid a repeat of the 1997 El Niño impact, when commercial agriculture suffered.

Ministry of Agriculture secretary Temarama Anguna-Kamana said the meeting held on September 24 was called after Rarotonga’s water authority, To Tatou Vai (TTV), raised concerns about water usage by growers.

And this was backed by the Cook Islands Meteorological Services warning that the dry spell brought about by El Niño could continue until March 2027.

President of the Te Tango Enua growers’ association, Danny Mataroa, said this means all growers need to be more vigilant and have common sense in how they use water.

Mataroa said growers can manage, and some have already started by taking a smarter approach.

“This means that water cannot be used as before. It has to be timed and switched on and off. I think it is manageable if the dry spell does not continue. It is all about common sense,” he said.

“But as we are doing it, we hope that this message is relayed across the board. If the dry spell is indeed a concern, hotels and people should be taking approaches to conserve water.”

Mataroa said there were a few large growers, but the majority of the Cook Islands’ local agricultural market was made up of small-scale growers.

He added that the dry spell could also impact taro exports as most relied heavily on water. He said watermelon, cucumber, and other vegetable production could become low.

“Water is an essential part of agriculture, and production will be impacted. This could eventually lead to higher prices and more reliance on imported produce, but we are hoping that we can manage with everyone working together,” he said.

Anguna said the turnout from the growers showed a genuine willingness to work.

“The message delivered was that we need to conserve water for produce and livestock. Our local growers and their produce are very important to the local economy and at the same time for the tourism sector,” she said.

“We talked about how the ministry could help, and there were discussions on using boreholes should the dry spell continue.”

Cook Islands Meteorological Service has warned the current El Niño event could strengthen and continue through December.

In September, Director Maara Vaiimene told the Eighth Pacific Meteorological Council meeting in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, that a regional assessment presented to the meeting indicated El Niño was expected to continue and could become stronger.

“The status is, it will continue, and it will probably be strengthened,” Vaiimene said.

Vaiimene said the dry season had already been unusually dry, with monthly rainfall dropping below 50 millimetres, and there was concern that the expected seasonal increase may not occur.