In late June, FSA Farm Program staff members Steve Peterson and Bill Burns visited Saipan to reach out to local farmers and officials. Aerial view of farmlands. Coconut palms are planted as wind barriers. Kurencio Ngowakl shows visitors what a tropical crop looks like, valued for it flavorful root. Dry taro, a specialty food crop, is used for it's starchy root.
Banana are an important part of the local diet.
Several varieties thrive in the tropical sun, although hurricanes occasionally wipe out entire fields. The Kagman Agricultural Park provides farmers with the opportunity to lease land at an affordable rate. Bananas grown among other vegatation. A road overgrown with dense foliage on the way to the water tank. The tank will be an important source of irrigation water during dry periods for Kagman Ag Park farms.