Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council Chairman Ramon B. Camacho, who was elected the group’s new president, said they want to focus on farmers.
The association’s vice president is Alvin Ogo of Rota; Steven Cabrera of Tinian is the secretary; and Eric Diaz of Saipan and Northern Islands is the public information officer.
Camacho said they will push for the creation of a Farmers Support Group on Tinian and Rota.
This group, which already exists on Saipan, taps the resources of the Department of Land and Natural Resources and Northern Marianas College-Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service.
“There’s a need to organize the farmers to enable them to come up with a unified position,” Camacho said.
There are opportunities, including funding sources, available to farmers if they are organized, he added.
Camacho said the municipal councils will help establish marketing for the farmers’ produce, and push for the construction of a slaughterhouse, the acquisition of farm equipment, and the improvement of water sources for farmers.
He said there are local products that can be exported but the farmers are “just waiting for an opportunity to market them.”
