The Further Development of Organic Systems for the Production and Multiplication of the Polynesian Arrowroot and Other Medicinal Plants in the CNMI

• 2005 annual report

Commodities

• Additional Plants: medicinal plants

Practices

• Crop Production: organic fertilizers
• Education and Training: farmer to farmer, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research
• Farm Business Management: new enterprise development, cooperatives, market study, value added
• Production Systems: agroecosystems, holistic management
• Soil Management: green manures, composting, organic matter, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: public participation, sustainability measures

Since 1998, Felix Mendiola has been growing medicinal plants, primarily tacca, known locally as gapgap or Polynesian arrowroot. From 90 tubers obtained in the wild, his crop now covers a full acre with 30,000 plants. Tacca, rich in natural starch, was traditionally cultivated in small farm plots or village gardens for medicinal uses and consumption. But it has been replaced with imported rice and flour. Over-harvest has reduced wild populations and increased the price of tacca starch to an average of $100 a pound, too expensive for food use. Mendiola plans to create a cooperative learning experience and to lure other local farmers into cultivating tacca to increase production and bring down the price, making it affordable for consumers in the Mariana Islands chain. The tacca, which likes shade, will be planted with papaya.