NMI needs crop insurance program

Federal crop insurance program should be extended to the CNMI in order to boost growth of the local agriculture industry which has suffered since World War II, according to Rep. William S. Torres.

The legislator, who has initiated steps to develop the farm sector in recent months, urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study the possibility of implementing the federal program in the Commonwealth.

He asked in particular August Schumacher, USDA’s undersecretary of Farm and Foreign Agriculture Service, to implement such program for local farmers and ranchers.

Noting that farming, grazing and fishing used to be staple preoccupation of the indigenous people, Mr. Torres said it is necessary to provide assistance to spur growth of the agri-business here.

In fact, the once-prosperous industry, which relied on copra and sugar production before the war, was unable to recover as it had become at best a subsistence livelihood for most of the island residents, he added.

The representative also cited two recent studies, including an economic outlook on the CNMI prepared by the Northern Marianas College, which have considered the sector an alternative to the ailing tourism industry and future pullout of the garment manufacturers.

The national crop insurance program will give farmers and ranchers sufficient security, while lowering the risks associated with production and farm yield, said Mr. Torres.

His request to Mr. Schumacher was made formally through a House resolution that he introduced a few weeks ago.

The move followed his meeting with other U.S. agriculture officials in June in which they discussed mechanics of the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program or NAP for local farmers.

The aid program will provide financial assistance to producers of crops and commodities affected by natural disaster such as drought and typhoon.

It will only require CNMI farmers to submit report of the acreage and production documentation to be eligible in receiving the disaster aid from the federal government, according to officials of USDA’s Farm Service Agency for Hawaii and the Pacific Basin.

Based on latest government statistics, the CNMI has a total of 103 farms occupying 3,413 acres of land, down from 119 farms on 14,421 acres of lands about 10 years ago. But agriculture production has steadily increased with over $2.8 million in gross sales in 1998.

Aside from asking federal assistance, Mr. Torres is currently drafting a comprehensive farm policy that he has said will provide the sector an assurance of stable growth for the next several years.