Marianas Producers Association (MPA) is here to support the people of the Northern Marianas Islands in their fight against food insecurity. We wish to provide technical assistance in an environmentally friendly and sustainable approach to combat both climate change and dependence on food imports. The fight to save our planet starts with maximizing produce yields in our backyards and local commercial farms while also converting waste to usable fertilizer for plants or alternative animal feed. 

The CNMI is an underserved archipelago consisting of three populated islands (Saipan, Tinian and Rota) and eleven outer islands. To date, the CNMI has a population of 47,000 inhabitants with an unemployment rate of 14.1% according to the 2020 GDP estimate. Moreover, climate change, inflation, crude oil prices and geopolitical turmoil have compromised the CNMI’s food supply chain. 

The CNMI currently imports well over 80% of its food supply due to the island’s terrain hindering commercial agriculture production. However, this does not take into consideration the potential of the backyard gardener to impact our food production. It is in the best interest of the CNMI to strengthen its food security initiatives through kitchen gardens and bolster commercial farming techniques with sustainable practices for decreased costs.