Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Senators were deeply skeptical about government’s lease of 400 acres of prime land for the purpose of starting a cattle farm in neighboring Samoa, to be funded by federal grant money.

Director of Agriculture Solia Mutini told a hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee yesterday, that the 400 acres for American Samoa was one of the outcomes of the last Atoa o Samoa Talks between the two Samoas, and a formal agreement will be signed in the next talks scheduled for May.

He revealed that currently, they are working on putting together the agreement terms and conditions of the lease taking into account government’s long term plans for the project, before it is signed by the governor and Samoa’s prime minister in May.

After that, the Attorney General’s Office will work on finalizing the lease terms and conditions before it is presented to the Fono for review and approval.

However, some senators found it hard to believe that such a project could be funded by federal grant money especially due to the fact that it will be implemented in a foreign country.

Two of them, Senators Satele Aliitai Lili’o and Tuiasina Salamo Laumoli were incredulous that such an arrangement would be sanctioned by the federal authorities and concluded their questioning of the DOA director with the four-word sentence, “I smell a rat!”

Satele began his line of questioning by asking the DOA director if he has copies of his project proposal that senators could review to which Mutini replied that he had not brought anything because it wasn’t mentioned in his subpoena.

This did not sit well with Satele who admonished him for appearing unprepared at the hearing and pointed out that the matter under discussion was a huge government undertaking involving millions of federal grant funds.

Satele continued by asking how the proposed project would move forward when it is to be implemented in a foreign country.

DOA Director Mutini explained that the funding source for the project was through a grant from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) earmarked for projects that will ensure food security in US territories.

“Something is not right here,” said an unconvinced Satele. “I smell a rat!”

Senator Tuiasina echoed Satele’s sentiments saying that everything about this matter was vague and it looks like another example of the executive branch spending huge amounts of money without informing the Fono, and without considering the possibility of being adversely affected by obligations and liabilities connected with it.

“I first learned that we have 400 acres of land and 10 cattle in Samoa from a newspaper article and I thought to myself, how can something like this which involves international cooperation between two governments happen without the Fono knowing?” Tuiasina asked.

“What is involved in the agreement which will be signed in May?

“The Fono must be given the chance to review the contents of this agreement to make sure the government is not liable for any part of the terms and conditions.

“Everything about this project is so vague and I have to agree with Senator Satele,” Tuiasina said.

“I smell a rat!”

Further clarifying the funding source for the project, DOA Director Mutini explained that he had attended conferences ion Washington DC where he had submitted an application for existing USDA grants specially designated for the food security of US territories.

A total of $400 million has been set aside for Guam, Saipan and American Samoa and are available at the USDA Office in Guam.

These funds will be divided according to the assessment of the cost estimates of each territory and a USDA team will be arriving in the first week of April to inspect American Samoa’s Food Security Project which includes the 400-acre cattle farm in Samoa, and the poultry production and cattle farm in Manu’a.

Mutini revealed that USDA officials have completed the cost analysis for Saipan and they have received their share of the grant. However, the amount they received has not been publicized.

He further explained that funds were designated specifically for the food security of the Pacific US territories not only in times of natural or manmade disasters but also in everyday life.

He pointed out that according to their records, 95% percent of foodstuffs in American Samoa is exported from other countries, while 5% is produced locally, and his department is trying to increase that percentage to 10% to help improve our food security.

Senator Togiola T.A. Tulafono asked the DOA director if he had informed the USDA that part of American Samoa’s Food Security Project will be implemented in the Independent State of Samoa.

 Mutini replied that he had just returned from a USDA conference in the mainland where he had delivered a presentation on the subject, where he had explained the problem faced by American Samoa of not having enough land to execute a project of this magnitude.

He had also explained to them that Samoa was willing to help American Samoa and has made available 400 acres that we can lease on a long term basis for this purpose.

He stated that USDA has given its approval to use the funds for this venture.

The 400 acres in question according to Mutini is in an area of land called Togitogiga, located in the district of Falealili in the southern part of the island of Upolu.

He said it was prime land for cattle farming where a government-owned cattle farm had been but has been vacated to make room for the proposed project.

He said that his department has funded the installment of new fencing around the perimeter of the allotted land using Food Security grant money already in their possession.

According to Mutini, a total of 11 cattle are currently kept there. Six were gifted by the Samoa government delegation at the last Atoa o Samoa Talks hosted in the Territory as “faaoso” or gift of foodstuffs, and another five gifted by the deputy prime minister plus an undisclosed number of sheep which were also kept there.

He also told the hearing that there are plans to buy 500 heads of cattle from Australia to kick start the project at a preliminary cost of US$750 per one cow, with the transport cost to be added on.

He stated that they had researched the different breeds of cattle for the best quality of meat and have decided to purchase the Angus cattle breed, known for its high quality meat used for the internationally renowned Angus steak.