Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — As the Agriculture Department (DoA) moves to increase local agriculture production to — among other things — ensure food security, Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga says the territory continues to face many difficult challenges due to its remote location and limited natural resources.

Lolo’s concerns are outlined in his State of the Territory Comprehensive Report submitted last month to the Fono and the U.S Interior Department. ASG and local leaders over the years have raised concerns over food security in American Samoa, especially because the territory is dependent on imports. And this was evident from late 2018 to early 2019 when there was a labor dispute at the US west coast ports, which delayed shipments to the territory.

In his report, Lolo said “global influences such as climate change, labor disputes, trade agreements, and federal policies make economic conditions in American Samoa even more challenging to overcome… Food security issues and addressing the importation of agriculture products remains as the top agricultural goals for the [Lolo] Administration.”

He said DoA has waged a campaign “encouraging families to re-engage in small family agricultural plots for subsistence” as this “will significantly improve self-sufficiency and abate the leakage of local funds through the purchase of imports.”

IMPORT SUBSTITUTION

Lolo said one of DoA’s goals is to have local farmers grow crops on local soil to reduce imports. And if local farmers are able to harvest a steady supply of produce such as lettuce, cabbage, and tomatoes, ASG may be able to increase government revenues through future tariff schemes. “There are tariffs currently in place for taro and bananas that are imported from Samoa,” he said.

Samoa News received reports early this week that consumers are facing difficulties in finding lettuce and tomatoes as it appears that there is a shortage of both imported and locally grown in stores and at small roadside stands.

INCREASING PRODUCTION

In order to address the high rate of imported produce from the U.S and Samoa, the governor says DoA has taken steps to encourage local farmers to increase production, and they are offering free consultation services to farmers.

According to Lolo, DoA plans to restore its farm subsidy program to assist farmers with much needed supplies such as fertilizer, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides at a reduced cost. (Samoa News points out that this subsidy program was suspended a few years back due to a lack of funding. And lawmakers have continuously urged the government to re-start it, to help farmers.)

During budget hearings for FYs 2019 and 2020 lawmakers noted that there is a farming subsidy listed under the Governor’s Special Programs category. According to FY 2019 and 2020 budget documents, $100,000 is allocated — for each fiscal year — for a farming subsidy and farmers, and the government will collaborate to define agricultural activities eligible for the subsidy. The subsidy is an “incentive scheme” to encourage people to farm different agricultural cash crops and produce, in order to reduce the territory’s dependence on imported goods.

SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM INITIATIVE

DoA’s Extension Division continues to conduct farm visitations to provide expertise on farming techniques and ensure that farmers are in compliance with standards set in order to qualify for the federally funded School Lunch Program — overseen by DOE. “We are very encouraged by the increased number of local farmers expanding their respective production of traditional crops and vegetables to replace imported products destined for the School Lunch Program,” the governor said.

PEST SURVEILLANCE GRANTS

According to Lolo, the department received three small federal grants to conduct an Imported Fire Ants Detection Survey; a Citrus Greening Survey; and a Fruit Fly Detection Survey.

He explained that the fire ants survey was to detect the existence of ant species and any new introduced ant species, especially the red imported fire ants. The Citrus Greening survey focused on detecting the presence of citrus fruit diseases and the outspread of the vector. And the fruit fly survey was mainly to detect the existence of various fruit fly species and trap any exotic species introduced to the territory.