In a letter sent to Governor Arnold Palacios on November 17, Mayor of Saipan RB Camacho said he wants to promote “agritourism.”
“Our islands posses an incredible wealth of natural resources that can be harnessed through agricultural and aquacultural practices. Encouraging local farmers and fishermen to engage in agritoursim initiatives can not only diversify our economy, but also bolster our food security and resilience against external market fluctuations,” he said.
Camacho said that the government could support “agritourism” by incentivizing local agricultural production. To that end, he proposes a $1 per acre per year land use fee, wherein the produce from leased land would go to a “Public Farmers Market.” Camacho says this market would be a “central hub” for local produce, and a “direct avenue for farmers to showcase their products.”
He also proposed the prohibition of subleasing land used for agritoursim. Camacho also says that “agritoursim” farmers should be made to follow sustainable agricultural practices such as crop rotation.
Camacho says that initiatives such as the one’s he propose can create a “self-sustaining” local food system, and underline his support of “agritourism.”
“The rising costs of food have significantly burdened our community, making access to affordable, locally sourced produce a pressing need,” he said.
