By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

THE increasing population of rodents has alarmed Saipan farmers and ranchers, particularly those in Kagman, according to agriculture consultant, Isidoro T. Cabrera of Northern Marianas College’s Cooperative Research, Extension and Education Service.
The DLNR’s agriculture division has a rodent control program, but the continuous increase in the population of rodents is now alarming that farmers and ranchers are always complaining about it, Cabrera said.
The problem is getting worse now, he added,
Even the farmers who raise their crops under the rodent control program are losing 40 percent of their crops, Cabrera said.
The rats feast on corn, cassava sweet potato, peanuts, string beans and fruits, he added.
Rodent control is a part of the curriculum during the annual farmers’ workshops.
Without this program, Cabrera said, some farmers will lose 100 percent of their produce, particularly corn.
“This is not documented but I saw it myself,” he said.
Cabrera said they are now trying to help farmers by providing them with rodenticides.
The rodent control program has a funding of $20,000. Of this amount, $5,000 is for implementation, while the rest becomes the revolving fund that will provide assistance to farmers.
Cabrera said there are many factors that contribute to the increase in the population of rats, and one of them is the lack of sanitation.
Dumped garbage provides rodents a breeding ground, he said.
Rats reproduce four times a year and have a life span of three to four years, Cabrera added.