NMC-CREES gets $30K for betel nut, rodent control

The Northern Marianas College-Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service finally got the money it had been waiting for so it could implement its pest control projects.

NMC-CREES agriculture consultant Isidoro Cabrera said the Department of Finance released on Friday a check worth $30,000 for the extension office.

He said $10,000 has been allotted for the acquisition of chemicals Fosphite and Kocide 45LF, which will be used to combat the bud rot disease that is plaguing Saipan’s betel nut trees. The remaining $20,000 would be used for the rodent control program of NMC-CREES.

Today, Cabrera will be handing the check over to NMC president Antonio V. Deleon Guerrero at the Board of Regents office.

The money became available when Gov. Juan N. Babauta signed into law House Local Bill 14-48 in March, appropriating $600,000 from the Managaha Island Land User Free Trust account for the renovation and construction of the Old Garapan Head Start. The law included an allocation of $10,000 to “defray the cost of the indigenous farmers and fishermen who suffered during typhoons Tingting and Chaba, eradication of rat and also for betel nut palm pest Phytophthora.”

It was mid-July when Cabrera first told the good news that betel nut farms threatened by the bud rot disease may receive funds to buy chemicals that will stop the spread of the fungi.

Cabrera said he has already made some purchase orders for Fosphite even before the release of the funding, asking for $5,000 worth of Fosphite from Guam. He said the orders might reach the island by Aug. 23. The purchase orders for Kocide 45LF, he said, will soon follow.

As soon as the chemicals arrive, NMC-CREES will immediately begin treating the infected betel nut trees. Cabrera said they have to act fast since the onset of the rainy season will make it harder for them to quell the fungi.

Cabrera said the disease has now spread to several farms, but he has not seen any huge spread of the disease lately.

The disease is currently ailing thousand of betel nut trees on Saipan and could threaten Tinian and Rota farms as well, if infected plants or nuts are introduced to the two islands.

Affected betel nut trees are in Dandan, Rapugao Hill, As Lito, As Mahetog, Capitol Hill, Donne, Kagman, Papago, Tanapag, San Vicente, Mt. Tapochao, and Gualo Rai.

Meantime, the Department of Lands and Natural Resources, together with NMC-CREES, has created a task force to combat the rat infestation that is menacing local farmers since June. The partnership was created in accordance with Saipan Local Law 14-17, which sets aside funds to tackle the rodent problem.

The task force is also composed of consultants and station agents from NMC-CREES, Division of Agriculture and DLNR.