Villagers cannot afford the inflated prices of rice and other necessities they now must rely on as they run out of food produced themselves. Future prospects look bleak. Almost all this year's rice crop has failed in East Kalimantan and many of the rattan and fruit gardens which normally generate extra income have been consumed by fire. No substantial rains are expected before July or August, meanIng no rice harvest until next February. In early March the local government was reporting that as many as 25 of the 38 subdistricts in Kutai district, East Kalimantan, were experiencing food shortages.
Official figures are usually very much on the conservative side.
Around the same time Dayak villagers from Kutai, representing 8,000 people went to the vice-governor of East Kalimantan, requesting a free supply of rice to affected villages. By April the official figure for people suffering food shortages had risen to 55,529. Water shortages are becoming severe owing to the drought and as fire-fighting efforts and communities rely on the same meagre resources. Dried up rivers cannot be fished and make transport of food supplies more difficult. In some areas high acidity levels may make fresh water unfit for drinking.