G3 regional partner CNMI Green Growth reports food security initiatives at CIS2025

Leveraging regional partnerships with the Guam Green Growth (G3) initiative along with local knowledge and innovation, the CNMI Green Growth—one of the latest members of the expanding Green Growth movement across Micronesia—has outlined its accomplishments at the first Green Growth Summit, including initiatives to promote regenerative agriculture and agroforestry to enhance food security.

 

The 16th UOG Conference on Island Sustainability hosted the Green Growth Summit. G3 assisted the CNMI in launching its own Green Growth initiative after receiving support from the US Department of State through the NOAA National Sea Grant College Program in 2023 to expand the movement.

 

“Like many of our islands, we import 85 to 95 percent of the food consumed in the Marianas. Just a few decades ago, everyone here knew how to grow, raise, and harvest food locally,” said Patricia Coleman, co-chair of the CNMI Green Growth working group at the G3 Summit.

 

According to Coleman, the number of farmers transitioning to regenerative agriculture and agroforestry practices is steadily increasing.

 

Regenerative agriculture and agroforestry focus on strategies that aim to restore and enhance the health and resilience of ecosystems, including soil, water, and plant life.

 

So far, Coleman said CNMI Green Growth has partnered with various organizations to revive the Luta Agricultural Fair after a six-year hiatus and establish Mama Food Forest Life, encouraging future generations to grow their food regeneratively.

 

Illustrating how movements can influence policy creation, Coleman noted that the Mariana Islands Legislature Association, with support from the Guam and CNMI legislatures, passed a resolution to reclaim the CNMI’s food system and promote the practices of regenerative agriculture and agroforestry.

 

Other initiatives by the CNMI Green Growth include a commitment to achieving 40 percent renewable energy in the CNMI by 2030, according to Coleman.

 

When the CNMI Green Growth Initiative launched in January 2024 in Saipan, key figures in the G3 initiative praised the move, considering it a strategic step toward sustainable development in the Micronesian region. 

 

CNMI Governor Arnold Palacios and Northern Marianas College (NMC) President Galvin Deleon Guerrero co-chair the CNMI Green Growth initiative. Similar to its G3 counterpart, CNMI Green Growth has established a Working Group to develop a CNMI Green Growth Action Strategy.