MET Service celebrate Yam Harvest and 175th session of the Online Climate Outlook Forum (OCOF)

The Meteorological Service celebrated two key events today: the 175th session of the Online Climate Outlook Forum (OCOF) and Yam Harvest of their Ufi Monitoring Project. 

According to Director of Niue Meteorogical Service Rossy Mitiepo stated in an email that the MET service joined the OCOF in 2007 where a “monthly regional OCOF allows Pacific Meteorological Services to provide status of the monthly rainfall and 3-months rainfall prediction, discuss climate status of the Pacific and other issues.”

The Ufi Monitoring Project began in 2019 and was completed last year, says the Director of Niue MET Services Rossy Mitiepo.

She explains that this project taught a great deal about the traditional rules of growing the yams, and the importance of the trial to grow yams in containers. 

Rossy Mitiepo says that the idea is to ensure we can monitor the ufi plant in our backyard and also by this successful method it can be used by women and elders who can no longer attend the bush gardens.

In this project they had hoped to prove the links between traditional knowledge of the growing of yams as an indicator of tropical cyclones. 

According to Rossy Mitiepo, the project garnered information which seems to confirm the traditional interpretations and the links to the cyclone seasons. The project will document the stories and will publish them for future reference. 

In an interview with MET worker Robert Togiamana earlier today, Mr. Togiamana told BCN news that one of the key reasons for the Ufi Monitoring Project is due to the wild pigs destroying and eating the people’s ufi plantation and crops. 

Mr. Togiamana adds that this project would benefit the locals who rarely or do not go to the plantation but can easily use this method to plant at their homes. 

On behalf of Meteorological Services, Mr. Togiamana expresses his gratitude for his work team and the departments who have supported their initiative of traditional innovative ways of using meteorology and climate to enhance the livelihoods of the people.