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Agri experts nearly finished with assessment
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Posted on Jul 05 2004
The CNMI’s ongoing assessment showed that Typhoon Tingting totally wiped out vegetable crops in Kagman, where many of Saipan’s farmland are situated.
Isidoro Cabrera, agricultural consultant to the Northern Marianas College’s Cooperative Research, Education and Extension Service, reiterated this finding, even as Saipan representative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture expressed skepticism about it.
Cabrera, who is among those assisting the CNMI Division of Agriculture in conducting the assessment, said their team is more than halfway complete with surveying the island’s farm plots.
Agricultural damage assessment for farm plots in Kagman and As Teo has almost been completed, and the CNMI team might finish assessment work by Thursday, according to Cabrera.
The NMC-CREES and the Agriculture Division would survey farm plots in As Lito, Finasisu, San Vicente, Tapochau, Capitol Hill, Marpi, San Roque and Tanapag this week, he said.
“It’s [damage] not only because of the wind but [also] because of flooding,” Cabrera said.
Another factor that contributed to the loss of vegetable crops, according to Cabrera, was “salt spray.” He said the strong winds sprayed salty ocean water on some farm plots.
Vegetable crops that were destroyed include tomato, eggplant, bitter gourd, cabbage, green onion and okra, Cabrera said.
He also insisted that damage to root crops could reach up to 60 percent. Besides taro and sweet potato, the agricultural consultant said the typhoon severely damaged crops of yam, adding that almost 90 percent of the island’s bananas were destroyed.
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s J. Scott Crockett earlier expressed skepticism over Cabrera’s 100-percent estimate on vegetable crop loss, saying some of the agency’s clients remain with marketable crops.
Crockett said that damage to the island’s vegetable crops could only reach 60 percent.
An assessment team from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency arrived in the CNMI Friday.
Cabrera said that Crockett is not involved in damage assessment. He said personnel from CREES and the Agriculture Division conduct actual farm-to-farm visit.
