“Agriculture and agricultural product processing industry could be the engine of economic growth in the CNMI,” according to P&A Corp. president Hong Kyun Kim.
“We need great products, boundless energy and a passion to succeed,” he said.
The corporation will buy and market farm products while providing services that individual farmers cannot obtain on their own, he added.
In the near future P&A will build a refrigerated warehouse for storage, he said.
On April 8, the Saipan Zoning Board approved the request of P&A to use the former Winners Garment Factory for its warehouse and wholesale activities at the intersection of Afetna Road and Buninas Loop.
“Thanks for still having faith in the island,” Diego Blanco, Zoning Board chairman, told Kim.
Reps. Stanley T. Torres, Ind.-Saipan, and Joseph M. Palacios, R-Saipan, lauded P&A for its investment and assurance to employ local residents.
One of the objectives of the P&A factory is to create brands for the marketing of processed products.
Coconut, mango, noni, banana, papaya, betelnut and other agricultural products will be processed and stored for resale at the factory.
The factory, Kim said, will produce wine, jam, vinegar, soap using mango and banana chip cookies.
P&A will use modern farming technology for its factory that will allow vegetables to be grown indoors all year round.
“The hydroponic system artificially creates the environment necessary for plants to grow by controlling the amount of culture solution, air and light from light emitting diodes,” Kim said.
They will no longer need soil, and the water will stay in the system and can be reused.
No pollution is released into the environment because of the controlled system, he said.
In its initial stage, Kim said they will grow vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage and tomatoes.