Sustainable Agriculture Professional Development for Agricultural Professionals of Northern Mariana Islands

Commodities

• Agronomic: corn
• Fruits: avocados, bananas, melons, papaya, pineapples, Mango, breadfruit, starfruit
• Vegetables: beans, eggplant, greens (lettuces), okra, peppers, radishes (culinary), sweet corn, sweet potatoes, taro
• Additional Plants: ginger, herbs, ornamentals, trees
• Animals: bees, bovine, fish, poultry, shellfish, swine
• Animal Products: eggs, honey, meat
• Miscellaneous: mushrooms

Practices

• Animal Production: animal protection and health, free-range, grazing management, grazing - multispecies, grazing - rotational, manure management, rangeland/pasture management, stocking rate, vaccines, watering systems
• Crop Production: agroforestry, alley cropping, biological inoculants, conservation tillage, cover crops, crop improvement and selection, cropping systems, crop rotation, fertilizers, food processing, food product quality/safety, forest/woodlot management, grafting, high tunnels or hoop houses, intercropping, irrigation, low tunnels, multiple cropping, no-till, nurseries, nutrient cycling, nutrient management, plant breeding and genetics, pollination, pollinator habitat, relay cropping, row covers (for season extension), silvopasture, strip tillage, varieties and cultivars
• Education and Training: demonstration, farmer to farmer, focus group, mentoring, networking, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, technical assistance, workshop, youth education
• Energy: anaerobic digestion, renewable energy, solar energy
• Farm Business Management: agricultural finance, agritourism, community-supported agriculture, farmers' markets/farm stands, farm succession, financial management, grant making, labor/employment, land access, market study, marketing management, value added
• Natural Resources/Environment: afforestation, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, habitat enhancement, hedgerows, soil stabilization, strip cropping
• Pest Management: biological control, biorational pesticides, cultural control, integrated pest management, mulches - general, mulches - killed, mulches - living, mulching - vegetative, mulching - plastic, prevention, weed ecology
• Production Systems: agroecosystems, aquaponics, hydroponics, organic agriculture, permaculture
• Soil Management: composting, earthworms, green manures, organic matter, soil analysis, soil chemistry, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: community development, community planning, community services, food access and security, food sovereignty, partnerships, quality of life, sustainability measures, urban agriculture, values-based supply chains

The Western Region Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) program of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) will work collaboratively with stakeholders and growers to develop an outreach educational campaign to promote sustainable agricultural technologies and programs in CNMI. The SARE program of CNMI will work with all stakeholders to engage and encourage participation of the members of local communities in program activities so that they could be inspired to adopt and integrate sustainable agriculture technologies and practices into their local agricultural production systems. Overall, greater productive capacity for local agricultural produce will be achieved by strengthening local food systems and by promoting concepts of sustainability and environmental stewardship, which will ultimately contribute to improved health and economic status of local communities.

• Identify, evaluate and promote locally appropriate sustainable agricultural technologies;
• Identify, procure and distribute locally appropriate outreach and educational materials to promote sustainable agriculture for multispecies and multipurpose crops;
• Organize outreach activities for stakeholders to disseminate knowledge and increase visibility of the SARE programs and grants;
• Provide assistance and technical advice to local growers to develop SARE grant proposals;
• Develop a multi-year collaborative educational and professional development program in coordination with regional institutions; and
• Coordinate hands-on training and workshops with regional institutions on sustainable agricultural practices for agricultural professionals.