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Agriculture director appointed food security committee chairman

farmers at Fagatago Marketplace
reporters@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — In a May 16 memorandum, Gov. Lemanu Peleti Mauga appointed the Agriculture Department director Solialeaofiotagaloa I.T. Mutini to serve as chairman of the government’s Food Security and Safety Committee.

The local Homeland Security Department (ASDHS) director Samana Semo Ve’ve’a, was previously appointed chair of this committee, when the governor first announced its establishment last December.

No explanation was given for the latest directive for the reasons behind the change in the chairmanship post for the committee, whose membership remains the same at 19, including the ASDHS director. The members include the American Samoa Chamber of Commerce chair, while the rest are cabinet directors and senior ASG officials.

In his latest memo, the governor said that appointees to the committee may designate another person to serve in their place by notifying the chairman and the Governor’s Office in writing.

“Food safety and security are crucial for the health and safety of our people. We must ensure that we have an adequate supply of safe food in American Samoa,” he said, and declared that the committee convenes under the Agriculture director’s leadership.

According to the memo, the “committee is expected” to report to the governor not less than once a quarter. Those reports should include proposed legislation and changes to rules and policies that promote an adequate and safe food supply.

Establishment of the committee last December followed an Agriculture Department “Food Security and Food Safety” presentation during a cabinet meeting in July last year, where the governor told cabinet members that the territory does well with food security most of the time, but there will come a time when there will be major interruptions of food supply with shipping delays, as the territory is mostly dependent on imported goods.

ASDHS recommended as part of the presentation, establishment of a government task force or working group to conduct a study and assessment of food security in the territory. (See Samoa News edition Aug. 2, 2021 for details.)