Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The increase in numbers of Asian farmers selling their produce — in local stores, the Fagatogo market, on the street and to the School Lunch Program (SLP) concerns many local Samoan farmers. At times, Asian farmers have been known to sell directly to households produce they have been unable to sell commercially.

Moreover, the increased quantity of other agricultural products such as taro and vegetables entering the territory to be sold at local stores has become a serious concern for local Samoan farmers, who now have to compete not only with local Asian farmers but also with off-island farmers as well.

This is not a new issue and for many years local Samoan farmers have continued to voice their concern over the hardships they’re facing everyday when it comes to supporting their families.

The farmers told Samoa News that one of the problems they’re facing is the limited opportunity they have to sell their agricultural  products to many local stores because the majority of local stores are owned and operated by Asians and they favor getting their products from the Asians farmers.

Expanding the market by sending locally grown agriculture products to be sold in overseas markets is a dream — and hopefully one which can become a reality in the near future — for members of the local Farmers Association.

This thinking has come to the fore as local farmers witness the fast pace in which agriculture products enter the territory to be sold at local stores, taking away the opportunities from local farmers, who say neighboring Samoa is their biggest competitor for selling agricultural products, like taro and bananas.

Talosaga Satuala, a farmer from Vaitogi said the income now going to off-island producers of agriculture should come to local farmers, who instead must look at other options to sell their locally grown items.

Satuala said the only other option is to identify off-island markets, adding there are a lot of local farmers already competing in the market to supply the School Lunch Program.

As to selling produce at the Fagatogo Market Place, he says this is another option, but there are times when a farmer can spend hours at the market, yet at the end of the day, the farmer doesn’t make much.

Satuala made the point that local farmers are competing with farmers of Samoa selling their fruits and vegetables here in American Samoa.

Mataniu Teofilo of Faleniu said there are many Asians who have now become local farmers and they sell their produce to local stores as well as to the school lunch program. She said our local American Samoan farmers really need to pay close attention to this change or else “we, Samoan farmers in the future won’t even get any income from farming the land.”

Other farmers believe that if off -island markets can be identified for local produce that would be a big benefit, as this could be a new stream of income for them.

In the meantime, the farmers are looking forward to the next Farm Fair. They say, hopefully, by then, there will be a sufficient amount of locally grown taro for export.

Samoa News notes there is no mention by local farmers of the ‘prices’ charged by the off-island farmers, or local Asian farmers, which would be an important part of the reason their products are successfully sold on island. Consistent supply is another important element of the market, with communication between suppliers and vendors being the key to establishing a successful market.

For example, the $1 vegetable stalls were first initiated by the local Asian farmers — where fresh cabbages, beans, baby wonboks, corn, etc. could be bought for a dollar a bundle. This has become a mainstay for many families on island, helping make ends meet, as well as offering healthy food choices at affordable prices. Lately, the prices have risen to $2- $5 for bundles, as well as charging by the size of the item, i.e. niu & papaya.

ASIAN FARMERS

Samoa News visited the Fagatogo Market Place yesterday morning and met up with two Asian farmers selling their agricultural products — Pham Thi Anh, a female farmer from Vietnam and Xien Kim, a female farmer from Korea.

Anh, 46, said she and her husband came to American Samoa in 2019 to work on a farm in Iliili. The farm is owned by a man from Pago Pago, and is the place where they currently reside.

She used to sell her agricultural products on the side of the road in the Pago Pago area and between February and April she said she made a lot of money. However, police officers came and instructed her not to sell her products at the side of the road.

It’s been a month since she started selling her products at the Fagatogo Market with a low price and she makes money, saying every week she sends money to her family and two young children back home. Selling her products at the cheapest price is the easiest way to make money fast, instead of raising up the price and nobody wants to buy.

Farmer Kim also shared her story with Samoa News. She started working at a farm in Malaeloa in 2017 and she and her group of three couples are making money from their hard work. Every week, they send money back home to their children while some of the money is deposited in the local bank.

Kim said she and her husband have been farmers for over 25 years now, and they love to do the hard work, which also allows them to get fit and stay strong. She said that selling her products at a cheap price at the market has been good for her.

BACKGROUND

Two months ago, the farmers of American Samoa, both men and women, turned out in force for the Department of Agriculture’s Farm Fair. The three-day fair took place at the Fagatogo Market Place.

From Samoa News observations, the market which was upgraded in 2008 had never before displayed such a large variety and quantity of crops — vegetables, fruits, plants and other food from the land and sea.

Farmer Talosaga Utaga said he and the other farmers who displayed the fruits of their labor at the fair wanted to show the leaders and people of American Samoa that they can supply the food needs of the territory.

He said, “We don’t need to import crops from Samoa, Tonga or other places.”

Utaga displayed taro, bananas, and papaya from his plantation.

He said, “This fair shows that we have abundant supplies of popular staples such as taro, bananas, breadfruit and what our people want to eat.”

Fishermen were also selling their catches and a few nurseries were selling ornamental plants, ferns, palms and other garden favorites.