“We must first accommodate our people here. It doesn’t make sense if you export without thinking about our people here,” said Ramon B. Camacho, who is also the Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council chairman.
Camacho at the same time said he supports the plan of businessman Anthony Pellegrino to export local agricultural products to Guam through Cargo Air Bridge.
Pellegrino is now working to acquire two cargo planes from Arctic Circle Air, a U.S.-based airline company.
“I praise Anthony Pellegrino for taking that action,” Camacho said.
But he said a farmer’s cooperative should deal with Cargo Air Bridge to ensure the consistency of supply.
“If we put this thing in a concept of cooperative, the cooperative will handle packaging and everything else,” he said.
Camacho said the cooperative concept is ideal because this will discourage any conflict of interest among farmers.
Saipan Sabalu Farmers Market president Sid Cabrera said an “individual approach” is more feasible at this time.
Cabrera said they discussed with Pellegrino the possibility of drafting a contract between the company and the individual farmer.
Under the individual approach concept, each farmer will sign a contract regarding the farm product he can supply to the company.
Most of the members of the Sabalu Farmer Market support this concept, he said.
“Bu I will not agree to use the name of the Sabalu Farmers Market. This export program is for everybody, including those on Rota and Tinian. We don’t want to discriminate,” he added.
He said he even encouraged farmers from other ethnic groups to join the effort to export CNMI produce.
Best concept
Camacho said Pellegrino agreed with his idea about a cooperative, describing it as “the best concept.”
He said the concept used at the Sabalu Farmers Market “is only temporary because it’s only about individuals but when we talk about exports, we have to talk about consistency.”
Camacho, also an officer of the Sabalu Farmers Market, said Pellegrino is even willing to share his property in Garapan for the establishment of the farmers cooperative.
But the Farmers Support Group will continue to request the CNMI government for a designation of public land that can be used by the cooperative, Camacho added.
Pellegrino’s property will be their alternative site, he said.
The Farmers Support Group is composed of the Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council, Northern Marianas College- Cooperative Research Cooperative Research Extension and Education, and the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Camacho also encouraged the municipal councils of Rota and Tinian to set up their cooperatives.
To boost the export program, he also encouraged residents to become farmers.
“Our elders educated us how to survive through farming especially now that the economy is bad,” he said.
Cabrera, the island’s agricultural consultant, said all farmers interested to join the export program will undergo a workshop with NMC-CREES.
He said the workshop will discuss the stages of vegetables, and the variety of farm products that must meet the standard requirements in produce exportation.
