Lt. Gov. Dennis Mendiola, left, poses for a photo with the book’s authors and the newly launched agroforestry workbook.
NORTHERN Marianas College’s Cooperative Research, Extension, and Education Services Agroforestry Team on Thursday held a book launch ceremony for “Regenerative Agroforestry in Action,” a workbook on agroforestry on the NMC campus.
The 150-page workbook helps readers create a step-by-step plan to establish and maintain a personal or commercial agroforest. The workbook includes site assessment, species selection, farm planning tools, among other components of farm development.
The book is authored by Patricia Coleman, Jesse Deleon Guerrero, Winnie Lee, Samson Palacios, Bill Joseph, Tom Pangelinan, Keoni Tudela, Deron Mendiola, Peter Ayuyu and Craig Elevitch. It is published locally by NMC’s Proa Publications.
In the book, its authors describe agroforestry as a system that integrates trees with crops and animals to achieve “a multitude of environmental, economic, and social benefits.” Trees, shrubs and crops are grown near each other so that some plants serve as cover crops, others provide shade, and others fulfill additional functions. The authors describe the system as “regenerative” because it “improves growing conditions over time, including soil health, biodiversity, [and] water holding capacity.”
In the preface, jointly written by Jesse Deleon Guerrero and Patricia Coleman, the authors question whether the CNMI would import more than 85% of its food or face “alarming rates of diet- and lifestyle-related non-communicable diseases” if residents had continued to traditionally raise food as they had for millennia prior to modernization and colonization.
“At NMC-CREES, we’ve pondered these questions deeply, considering the science, traditional knowledge, and the insights of those who care deeply about our community,” the authors write. “Agriculture is more than just producing food. It’s about nourishing pregnant women, children, and all people with the highest quality food possible — food grown without synthetic chemicals and in ways that regenerate nature instead of harming it.”
NMC President Dr. Galvin S. Deleon Guerrero praised the publication.
“This book is absolutely amazing because, normally, if you’re studying anything here in the Northern Marianas, it’s published in Texas, California, or Europe. This is self-published here with our Proa Press,” he said. “It’s practical. It’s not purely academic. It’s not meant to be read and studied; it’s meant to be used. This book will help us become better stewards of our land because it gives very practical tips.”
