With the casino industry “on the verge of dying” and tourism stalled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Camacho said farming is a viable alternative for the local people.
He noted that only 20 people showed interest in the over 200 farm plots offered by the Department of Public Lands.
Camacho, who operates farm plots in Kagman, said instead of just giving out farm plots to the people, there has to be a comprehensive program in place that provides more incentives to locals. These should include assistance in marketing produce, he added.
He said those who want to avail themselves of the incentive program should meet the following conditions: they should farm; they should bring their produce to the public market at the Garapan Fishing Base; they should not sublease the farm plots; and they should practice crop rotation.
He noted that it was the federal government that helped provide local farmers a public market where they can sell their produce, referring to the Garapan Public Market.
Camacho said the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Services Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service can also provide assistance to local farmers.
“Locals can apply for these agencies’ assistance programs,” he added.
On the governor’s desk
In related news, the Senate on Friday unanimously passed House Bill 21-108, which will allow the director of Agriculture to issue licenses or permits to farmers for at least five years.
The bill now goes to the governor’s desk.
Its author, Vice Speaker Lorenzo Deleon Guerrero, said the bill aims to encourage locals to become farmers.
Reps. Ivan Blanco and Roman Benavente also support the bill. “We need to encourage people to do farming especially now with this Covid-19 pandemic — people have time to plant even a home garden,” Blanco said.
He noted that a provision of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security or CARES Act provides financial assistance to local farmers. But without a proper permit to farm on a government plot, locals will not be able to apply for federal assistance, he added.
Deleon Guerrero said some local farmers have signed lease agreements with the Department of Lands and Natural Resources, but they are “interim arrangements.”
He said DLNR, through the Division of Agriculture, still has to promulgate rules and set requirements for farming permits.
“So there is a need for a statute that will authorize DLNR to issue permits, which is why I introduced the bill,” Deleon Guerrero said.
