CREES News
CREES awarded grant for Cuban Slug control - 4/22/2008
Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (WSARE) awarded a competitive grant of $23,673 to NMC-CREES to fund a project on Cuban Slugs control on Rota. The project is entitled “Comparative Study of Cuban Slugs Suppression Using grazing Ducks, Neem Extract and Chemical Baits in the CNMI”. Project leaders are Mr. Alejandro E. Badilles, NMC-CREES Integrated Pest Management Coordinator of the CNMI and three producers on Rota, namely: Mr. Nurul Islam Paeda, Jack Manglona and Maria Fujihira.
According to Mr. Badilles, the losses from Cuban Slugs for agriculture on Rota are substantial, and the costs for appropriate measures prohibitive. Many farmers have already abandoned their fields because of the slug problem. Furthermore, there is an increasing fear that the slug presence will create the false image for the island of Rota as being an unhealthy and unsafe environment to visit and that the whole economy (e.g. agricultural exports, tourism, tourism, small businesses, etc.) of Rota will be adversely affected.
This project aims to explore and demonstrate cost effective, environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative practices to slug and pests control in vegetable production.
One practice will be to use ducks as predators for the slugs. The ducks have the advantage to clear the weeds, fertilize the ground and provide the farmers with eggs but also eat any slugs and other pest that they come across. Ducks do little damage to crops, and have been used in the Far East for centuries to clear slugs and snails from rice and vegetable fields.
The planting and use of Neem trees in this project will provide readily available organic pesticides to the pest problems. Today, researchers are saying that Neem could be called "a wonder tree". This wonder tree has pesticide, germicidal and medicinal properties, and is capable of solving many problems facing mankind today. Therefore, an increased commercial plantations and agroforestry involving Neem can enhance the economical potential of this tree with positive and large externalities for pesticides, fertilizers, live stocks, dairying and other value-added products.
The approach is to move towards farming systems with a high degree of self-regulatory mechanisms, in which damaging slug pest populations are avoided.
Please join NMC-CREES staff in congratulating Mr. Badilles to the award.
CREES explores alternative meds for livestock - 3/27/2008
The Northern Marianas College Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service was recently awarded a grant totaling $97,074 to fund a project that advances alternative plant medicines to improve livestock health in the Pacific region.
Titled “Technology Transfer of Alternative Plant Medicines for Livestock HealthCare in the Western Pacific,” the project is led by Dr. Allan Sabaldica, DVM, who works as an animal scientist and extension specialist for CREES.
“We are extremely proud of Dr. Sabaldica and his team at CREES,” said NMC president Dr. Carmen Fernandez. “The project he's leading will go a long way in promoting not only alternative animal health practices for the CNMI, but also regional collaboration in agricultural sustainability.”
The highly competitive grant is administered by the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, which is a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that aims to support farm and ranch systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities.
Other jurisdictions that are part of the WSARE that also received grant funds included Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Guam, Colorado and Nevada; however, the CNMI received the highest amount.
According to the Sabaldica, the advancement of alternative plant medicine was necessitated by the region's shortage of animal health experts, strict restrictions on traditional livestock drug usage, food safety concerns, language variations, cultural differences, geographical locations, and loss in indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants for most Western Pacific extension professionals and producers.
“Alternative plant medicine is considered highly recommended, economical, and environmentally friendly,” Sabaldica said. “It is clear that it will complement sustainable organic farming and improve animal health, and inevitably, human health.”
The project has three phases. The first objective involves medicinal plant training for paravets, extension staff, local and federal field officers, farmers and producers in the CNMI, Guam, Palau, FSM and the Marshall Islands. It will also involve a “Train the Trainers” program that will impart Asian technology transfer on plant medicinal applications and preparations for livestock healthcare to the Western Pacific.
The second phase and objective will involve the production and distribution of sustainable educational materials in different native languages. These materials will include manuals, posters, CD database, and videos/DVD of the available medicinal plants.
The final phase entails conducting workshops in the CNMI, Guam, Palau, FSM, and the Marshall Islands to disseminate and share gained knowledge with government agencies and the community within the Western Pacific.
“In addition to the increase in the quality of animal life and human life,” Sabaldica added, “the project aims to increase the profitability in livestock operation, increase the number of in healthful products and available organic foods, and decrease antibiotic residue and other food safety concerns.” (NMC)
NMC-CREES eyes in-land grouper production - 3/18/2008
IN-LAND production of grouper will be carried out in Paupau in the next few months, according to Northern Marianas College’s Cooperative Research Extension and Education.
NMC-CREES aquaculture consultant Michael M. Ogo disclosed in an interview last week that a facility for re-circulating aquaculture system may be built in Paupau probably by July.
Ogo arrived two weeks ago from Taiwan where he conducted research on baby red grouper, which he said can be produced on Saipan.
NMC-CREES was awarded a $125,000 federal grant for a two-year study of a re-circulating aquaculture system which will make seasonal grouper available for the whole year.
The demand for grouper, which is locally called inid or lapu-lapu, is growing in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.
Ogo said the fish is known to be available only from March to June.
In a study he completed recently, Ogo said there is a need to determine potential of growing grouper on island, in order for the CNMI “to capitalize” on the live grouper market.
Ogo will use the federal grant NMC-CREES received to investigate the viability of growing groupers on formulated feed and with re-circulating system using a combination of treated water and disinfected ocean water.
This involves raising higher value salt water fish in a manner similar to the production of fresh water fish like tilapia.
Groupers are traditionally caught through spear fishing and bottom fishing which requires a boat, a complete set of gear, a lot of time, and involves risks.
The project aims to introduce feed to grouper production, contribute to the food security of the CNMI, reduce dependency on imported goods, reduce pressure on native marine fin fish resources, effect the recovery of native marine fish population to acceptable levels and help generate income for farmers.
CREES to study grouper farming in 3 countries - 11/20/2007
The Northern Marianas College-Cooperative Research Education and Extension Service will be visiting three countries that are actively raising groupers or Lapu-lapu as a business venture.
NMC-CREES consultant Michael Ogo said the extension office is sending him as part of a research study on cultivating groupers.
Ogo said the site visits would be in Bali, Indonesia; Iloilo, Philippines; and, Cairns, Australia. He said these three countries are aggressively growing and marketing groupers.
The trip is funded by a $125,000 grant obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service. It will fund a two-year research study and development on grouper culture. Ogo said they received the grant last week.
The site visits would start next month until February 2008. Ogo said the knowledge that he would gain from his inspections would be used to implement an effective system of growing groupers on the islands.
The actual experiment of cultivating groupers in the CNMI would start in March 2008.
Ogo said that growing groupers poses a great potential business venture in the Commonwealth since “the ocean is the CNMI's main natural resources.”
He said the potential market for groupers in Asia are Hong Kong and Shanghai, China.
Ogo said growing the groupers in the CNMI has more advantage than any other places in the world because the CNMI is pathogen-free or free of disease and the climate contributes to a natural setup needed in effectively growing fish.
“Lapu-lapu is also indigenous to the CNMI,” he said.
The study is part of efforts by the agency to help local farmers and fishermen cope with the many challenges faced by the stagnant economy.
NMC-CREES experiments on high-yield crops - 11/18/2007
The Northern Marianas College's Cooperative Research, Education and Extension Service is going through a new phase and is adopting modern scientific and biotechnological tools to improve its research studies for the CNMI.
According to NMC, the CREES' Agriculture Research and Extension is adopting modern scientific and biotechnological tools such as tissue culture to improve crop production in the CNMI.
Plant tissue culture is the science of growing plant cells, tissues or organs extracted from the mother plant and grown on artificial media in sterile conditions. It includes techniques and methods for research into botanical and agriculture disciplines.
The college said that new projects and grants have been recently received from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to enhance the CNMI's production capability for important crops such as banana, taro, sweet potato and citrus.
“New germplasm and varieties of banana, sweet potato and taro produced through tissue culture have been introduced from regional germplasm institutions, such as SPC Fiji, USDA/ARS Florida and Hawaii, for field trials at the As Perdido Agriculture Experiment Station,” said NMC.
The germplasm and the various varieties of tissue culture materials have been tested in the Pacific islands by certified institutions for superior agronomic characters, including vigor, high yield, and disease and pest resistance.
NMC said that the objective of these trials is to investigate the adaptability of the new varieties to grow in local soil and the CNMI's climatic conditions. The results of the research would enormously benefit overall agriculture development in the CNMI.
In addition to the three crops, researchers are evaluating new varieties of vegetables, fruit trees and other plants of agro-forestry importance at the newly established As Perdido farm.
“With the new information, programs at NMC-CREES will continue focus on improving varieties of planting materials, plant vigor, qualities of products, etc., through agriculture research and extension,” said NMC.
The CREES department has been conducting research and extension activities in agriculture since its establishment in 1987. The areas covered include plant protection, animal science, plant pathology, plant propagation, food safety, and aquaculture.
Rota NMC announces schedule of workshops - 5/1/2008
The Cooperative Research, Education, and Extension service, under the NMC's Community Programs and Services Unit (COMPASS) is pleased to announce the upcoming schedule of training and workshop.
CNMI commercial pesticides safety education training certification ornamental & turf (category IV Rota) would be held May 20-23, 2008.
Interested applicants should be acquainted with the following schedule and presenters.
This workshop will be held at NMC's Rota campus room B - 2 (8: 30am-4pm).
NMC CREES Rota Joaquin Tenorio PhD, Entomologist, will present the principles of Pest Control and Biology.
NMC CREES from Rota Alejandro E. Badilles will present topics about Pesticides Hazard & the Environment, Transportation Loading, Personal Protective Equipment and Handling, Weed Science, and Plant Pathology.
NMC CREES from Saipan Arnold Route will present topics regarding math calibration and calculation, pesticides label, and pesticides handling decision.
From Saipan's Department of Environmental Quality representative Carlos Katebangan will talk about rules and regulations.
The requirement of attending this workshop is that you must hold a valid Category IV license. Those who have an expired license must attend the entire workshop as well in order to have a re-certification. Person holding other pesticide license cannot use this workshop for re-certification purpose.
For any more information, you can contact Alejandro Badilles at 287-0554 or 532-9513.
15 farmers and ranchers attend piggery workshop - 6/19/2008
At least 15 local farmers and ranchers took advantage of the free workshop on Effective Swine Husbandry Management Practices provided by the Northern Marianas College Cooperative, Research, Extension, and Education Service yesterday.
According to CREES veterinarian Dr. Allan C. Sabaldica, the workshop was intended to help farmers and ranchers in hog production and pest management.
The workshop was divided into two topics: Effective Swine Husbandry Management Practices in the Marianas educated participants about taking care of piglets, sows, and boars in different production stages that would maximize profits to producers.
The second workshop on Integrated Pest Management was incorporated with the workshop on hog production, enabling participants to learn about mitigation methods in relation to pests in crops.
Sabaldica said the workshop had a “great turnout and the participants were very happy.”
The workshop was also in collaboration with the Western Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education Grant Opportunity.
NMC-CREES is scheduled to conduct the same workshop on Tinian on June 20 from 8am to 4pm, Room D at the NMC-Tinian Campus.
For more information on the workshops, call Sabaldica at 287-0556, Alejandro Bajilles at 287-0554, or Ross Manglona at 287-0552.
New shrimp farm starts operations on Rota - 7/25/2008
A new shrimp farm on Rota began raising its first crustacean crop ever Thursday with the aide of staff from Northern Marianas College, a debut that comes as lawmakers and local business leaders are eying the aquaculture industry as a prospective economic boon for the Commonwealth.
The new farm's opening comes after a landmark aquaculture conference on Saipan last week aimed at spurring the development of new businesses, and as legislators are weighing a bill to establish import restrictions on Rota to safeguard future aquaculture operations against disease.
Aquaculture is a multi-million dollar business according to statistics from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Worldwide aquaculture production nets an estimated $70 billion annually with significant potential for growth in the U.S. market, NOAA says.
Owned by Taga Diversified Products LLC, the new farm has already released its first batch of shrimp larvae into tanks after their arrival on a flight from Guam. The farm's first harvest, according to NMC aquaculture specialist Michael Ogo, who was on hand there Thursday to provide technical assistance, could be ready by December.
“Christmas shrimp, just in time for the holidays,” he said with a laugh during a phone interview, adding the farm, with a staff of 4, could produce up to 100,000 shrimp in each crop.
With one shrimp farm already seeing early success on Saipan and another planned on Tinian, Ogo added that aquaculture could eventually become a significant industry in the Commonwealth.
“We're certainly moving in that direction,” Ogo said. “We could one day have shrimp farms on all three of those islands.”
Guam and Rota are the new farm's primary targets for marketing its shrimp crops, according to Vincent Hocog, one of the farm's owners. Hocog is hopeful, given the economic downturn much of the Commonwealth has seen in recent years, that shrimp farming could be a booming business in the future.
“We do hope business will move in that direction with the economy and how that is going,” Hocog said. In addition, Hocog thanked NMC's Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service program, an outreach service the college operates, for its assistance with launching the farm.
NMC CREES offering 18 paid summer internships - 7/25/2008
The internships, which will last from Aug. 4 to Aug. 29, 2008, will provide students with excellent work experience and hands-on training through the interns' active involvement in different projects. There are eight research lab assistant positions and ten extension assistant positions available.
The internships are open to incoming high school juniors and seniors for school year 2008-2009. Interested applicants must submit a two-page application form, have an interest in the fields of agriculture and family consumer science and a GPA of 2.5 or higher.
Application forms can be picked up from the CREES Office at the NMC As Terlaje Campus in Building F, or from the Tinian and Rota NMC Offices. For more information, please call the CREES Office at 234-5498 Ext 1705. (CREES)
CREES gets $72K grant - 7/25/2008
In an effort to curb the adverse effects of pests on local crops, the Northern Marianas College-Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service has secured a $72,000 grant to fund a project that will demonstrate a new botanical insect control agent in the CNMI.
The Demonstration of Botanical Pesticides project, whose grant request was authored by CREES Pesticide Safety and Education Program Coordinator Arnold Route, will be funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Natural Resource Conservation Service. It aims to introduce Neem (also known as Nim, Nima, or its scientific name Azadirachta indica) to combat pests and minimize their harm.
Neem is a fast growing, non-invasive tree. Leaves for insecticide production can be harvested already three months after a seedling has been planted. Neem also improves soil quality, reduces wind erosion, and helps in greening of wastelands. Its most important feature, however, is that it offers a safe, effective, and economic strategy for pest control in harmony with nature and within reach of farmers with limited resources. The plant is said to control more than 125 pest species with little to no harm to beneficial insects.
Trials will start in October this year when the first seedlings will be planted on NMC-CREES experiment station in As Perdido. Farmers who are interested in participating in the Neem experiment can do so by contacting the CREES Office. According to Route, there will be 500 or more seedlings available for island-wide propagation.
“The advantage of Neem is that farmers can produce the leaf extract themselves,” Route said. “All they need is a blender.”
The timeline of this project is split into two phases. Phase one will start in October 2008 and consists of propagation and monitoring with crop trials in March next year. In the second phase from June 2009 to August 2010, NMC CREES will concentrate on community outreach through the use and dissemination of brochures, video presentations, and workshops.
The benefits of botanical pest control are multifaceted. Neem extract presents no danger to CNMI's aquifers. Residues on fruits, fodder crops and vegetables are not harmful to humans or animals.
“This project is part of CREES's efforts to diminish the CNMI's use of insect control chemicals that have harmful environmental and health consequences,” said Felicitas “Tee” Abraham, Dean for Community Programs & Services.
Arnold Route holds a B.S. in Agriculture from the University of Guam. He possesses years of experience at the University of Guam Experiment Station working on entomological issues. Route started his career with NMC-CREES in 1999 on Tinian and moved to the Entomology Lab on Saipan in 2003.
To learn more about this project the interested public can contact Route at NMC-CREES 234-5498 ext. 1432. (NMC-CREES)