Council Chairwoman Antonia M. Tudela, in a letter, urged the Department of Lands and Natural Resources and Northern Marianas College-Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service to help local farmers increase their production.
Tudela said the council is “taking small steps in securing stable markets for Saipan farm produce locally and for Guam.”
“The military buildup in Guam will definitely create a surge in demand for locally grown produce and farm products in Guam,” she added. “The ripple effect will extend out to the CNMI and the rest of Micronesia. It is important, for this reason, that we should all be prepared for an overnight commercialization of the local agriculture industry to supply the need of fresh organic farm produce and by-products in Guam.”
Tudela said “now is the time to revisit the recommendations proposed by a group of economic developers on how agriculture should be packaged and promoted as a tourism support industry. That is, increasing farm yield should not just be aimed to produce the local dependency on imported food items as much as it should be tied in to the tourism industry.”
Tudela also favors the creation of a farm cooperative “governed by marketing agreements.”
This co-op, she added, will “enable farmers to market produce more effectively at the least cost possible.”
The co-op could be engaged in activities dealing with assembling, handling, grading, packing, processing, preserving, transporting, financing and distribution of local agriculture products, she said.
The group could also help secure capital and financing for equipment and facilities through grants, donations and direct public financing, Tudela added.
The council is planning to hold a mini-summit for local farmers.
