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Irregular production a problem in CNMI farming
Irregular production is seen as the main problem in farming in the CNMI.
According to Saipan and Northern Islands Fair Association president Michael Ogo, this is the reason why importation is still high and local produce are not being preferred.
“The reason why we’re importing is consistency. Basically we’re talking with the farmers that, you know, you got to be producing, and you have to be producing on a regular basis,” Ogo said.
“Why does the F&B manager at the hotel or the purchasing manager at the restaurant going to buy imported [produce]? Because you give them produce this week but you don’t have it next week or so. Consistency is the biggest issue,” he added.
Ogo said they are working with the island farmers to address the issue.
“We’re working with the farmers, NMC-CREES (Northern Marianas College-Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service), and DLNR (Department of Land and Natural Resources) are working with the farmers to close those gaps. We already know what the problem is. It’s only a matter of working on the problem,” Ogo said.
He added that they have been having summits and meetings with the farmers to talk about their production.
He also mentioned that not only will supporting farmers good for the farmers themselves but for the whole community as well.
“By lowering the importation basically the money will circulate in the island and not go abroad,” Ogo said.
“I’m not saying that we’re going to stop importing, we’re going to continue importing but we’re going to lower the importation,” he added.
Ogo said 95 percent of the food on the island is being imported.
“As you know we got a lot of development coming so we definitely need to bring up the amount of produce and livestock production,” he added. (Frauleine S. Villanueva)
