Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Through a July 13th executive order, Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga imposed a temporary ban on the importation of fertilizer into American Samoa until the end of this year and established the Nutrient Management Committee to develop guidelines and policies for fertilizer use and management in the territory.

According to the governor, “all forms of agriculture fertilizers are declared an unauthorized good for the period of July 1 to Dec. 1, 2020 unless extended by further executive order.”

Accordingly, importation of fertilizers shall be suspended during this time, he said, noting that this action is being taken to allow for research on the impact on the environment and proper regulations to be put in place to adequately address any adverse effects of fertilizers.

The new committee will be chaired by the ASG Agriculture director and co-chaired by the American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency executive director. Committee members are heads of the Heath Department, American Samoa Community College CNR Extension program, Customs Division, Office of Samoa Affairs and Attorney General’s Office.

The committee’s duties and responsibilities, according to the governor, include developing a nutrient management plan for agriculture farming in the territory; conduct an island-wide soil nutrient study and survey; and propose new laws to regulate importation, storage, use and application of fertilizer in the territory.

Other duties of the committee:

• promote traditional form of farming practices;

• educate and provide training opportunities to local farmers and business community on nutrient management plan;

• develop and implement pre-approval process to review imported fertilizers before it leaves its country of origin; and

• engage with local federal partners — US Department of Agriculture NRC and Soil and Water District — for technical assistance.

The committee shall meet at least bi-monthly to fulfill its duties and responsibilities outlined in the executive order, which became effective on July 13th.

The governor explained that fertilizer usage on farms is meant to supplement nutrients that may otherwise be deficient in soil and help maximize crop yield and quality. Additionally, adequate levels of nutrients are essential for healthy and productive crop growth.

However, he says excessive use and misuse of fertilizers has an impact on public health and the environment, especially through the introduction of excess nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, into groundwater and surface water.

He also says that over fertilizing with nitrogen can reduce crop quality and lead to increased susceptibility of plant diseases and insect attack.

Lolo points out that ASG “recognizes that the importation and application of fertilizer on agricultural farms have gone unregulated thus necessitating the need for government to develop and implement guidance and policies to properly regulation the importation and use of fertilizers in the territory.”

He said the “preservation of traditional forms of farming knowledge and practices have proven to be efficient and sustainable and must be encouraged to prevent and/or minimize the use of fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals.”