DLNR to apply for $220K SCBG farm bill grant

The U.S Department of Agriculture has once again made the CNMI eligible to apply for a $223,187.88 Specialty Crop Block Grant that could help the Commonwealth’s farmers.

The purpose of the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, which is handled by the Agricultural Marketing Service, is to solely enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops.

Specialty crops are defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture).

The deadline to apply for the grant is July 9, 2014.

Department of Land and Natural Resources Secretary Arnold Palacios confirmed that they will be applying for the grant.

“We are actively looking at the Farm Bill grant, collaborating with Rota and Tinian and other partnering agencies,” he said.

Palacios noted that the grant would be for fiscal year 2015.

Delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan (Ind-MP) told Saipan Tribune that the funding has been allocated for a specific recipient that is DLNR.

“The Northern Marianas DLNR is eligible to apply directly to the USDA for this grant fund,” he said. “This is to help contribute to food safety improvements, increased access to healthy food, and new research to help growers increase profitability and sustainability.”

DLNR-Division of Agriculture director Manuel A. Tenorio said they are looking at using the grant to expand agriculture programs and potentially expand other areas.

“We will be applying for the grant that is available to expand all our programs. So far we still have ongoing projects under the SCBG farm bill that are still in effect,” Tenorio said.

Tenorio said there are three programs under the current SCBG farm bill: school garden, residue program, and hydroponics.

According to Tenorio, the school garden program teaches students about agriculture by showing them how to plant and grow seedlings.

“Basically students are doing agricultural practices for ‘hands-on-experience’ and maybe entice some of the kids to go into agriculture,” he said.

The residue program tests crops for chemicals, particularly those that are sold at the Sabalu Market.

“We let the farmers know if the crop they are selling is safe or not because it’s a public health issue,” he said.

The hydroponics program, Tenorio said, is in conjunction with NMC-CREES to help educate the public about this style of growing crops.

“We are partnering with NMC-CREES and also collaborating with Chacha Oceanview Junior High School’s agricultural students,” Tenorio said.

In related news, in a letter to DLNR’s Palacios, Delegate Sablan said that federal funds are vital to the operation of the Commonwealth government.

“For that reason, I am sending you a table of the federal programs that I have recommended to the House Appropriations Committee and the level of funding I am supporting for each in fiscal year 2015,” he wrote.

When Saipan Tribune asked of “possible grants” for an irrigation system in Kagman, Tenorio said that he is looking into the grants that had been sent out to him by Sablan.

“There are many grants available that could be used and so far we are looking into it,” Tenorio said.

Sablan said he wanted to make sure that DLNR was aware of the process to help determine the federal programs that are funded, how much money each receives, and ultimately the federal funding for DLNR.