Farmers explain how hard it is to survive during COVID shutdown

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Local farmers are calling out to government leaders to consider providing them with financial assistance after the Fagatogo Marketpace was closed for over two months due to the community spread of COVID-19.

This week, some relief was forthcoming after the market was re-opened to local farmers to sell their crops with the special condition that only ten farmers are allowed inside the market each day to sell.

One farmer told Samoa News that selling is only by appointment. They have to call in to the market office and the person in-charge will assist them to make sure they follow the requirements.

When Samoa News visited the market early yesterday morning, it was observed that only three local farmers were selling their produce. On Monday this week (which was the first day the market was open to the public), Samoa News saw four farmers selling their crops and one of them was Sio Paulo from Pavai’a’i.

According to the Pavai’a’i farmer, his family has faced financial hardship during the government lockdown.

Paulo said he has farmed for over 30 years and this is the only source of income for his family.

“I don’t work at the government office nor in the private sector. I work at my farm everyday and I also sell my crops to earn money to feed my family. However, my family’s lifestyle changed on the last week of February of this year after the Governor announced that our government is now under CODE RED due to the spread of the virus in the community,” Paulo said.

According to Paulo, in the seven weeks now since his family has faced financial hardship, he can’t go to the bank to borrow money to feed his family because he isn’t working (the proverbial ‘catch 22’ in the banking industry — if you don’t have a job, you can’t get credit).

Paulo said that after the two weeks of the lockdown, he tried to open a small market stand on the side of the road in Faleniu, however, cops instructed him to pack up his things and go home.

The next day, he returned to the same location and started to sell his taro, banana, coconut and ufi, but the same cops came by and instructed him not to sell his products, because only essential businesses are allowed  to be open during CODE RED.

Paulo said he was sorely disappointed because government leaders are so quick to help local businesses re-open their services to the public, but they turned a blind eye to a poor family like his that is struggling every day to find food to feed their children.

Other farmers shared the same thoughts about the situation.

Foma’i Levi, a 59-year-old farmer from Futiga said his family faced the same financial hardship during the whole time of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he attempted to open a small market on the side of the road in Puapua to sell his taro and banana to earn some money for his children especially his two young grandchildren — but he also was stopped by police.

“Two hours since I was sitting under my small market on the side of the road, a police unit pulled up and a female cop yelled at me in a loud voice to remove my stuff and go home because it’s not allowed under the CODE RED restrictions,” Levi recalled.

According to Levi, he walked over to the cop and asked to sell his taro and bananas for another hour to earn some money for his children but the cop said, “No, this is the order from the government leaders and we have to enforce it.”

Levi complied with the instructions from the cop, and packed up his stuff and went home. Luckily, he had $50 from the first hour of selling his crops and it was used to buy food for his family for two days.

Levi believes that the government must provide financial assistance for all the local farmers that face financial hardship due to the COVID-19 restrictions since Feb. 22.

A farmer from Malaeloa shared a different perspective about utilizing the land and its resources from God to feed the family instead of staying idle in the villages waiting for the US freebie benefits.

Falaniko Pase has spent over 15 years working on the land. He’s from Futiga and he sells vegetables, taro and bananas to the community.

“I am grateful to our government for getting farmers together and encouraging us to work hard on the land so that we can produce food for the community,” Mr. Pase told Samoa News.

Pase said that one of the things that shocked him when he visited the Fagatogo Market at the beginning of this year was he noticed four Asian farmers selling their crops at the market.

“My hat goes off to these Asian people who are working very hard on our land to produce food for us, however, this is our country and our land and we’re Samoan people, [we] need to make use of the opportunity God gave us.

“We should not continue to depend on the financial benefits from the United States because there will be a time that the world’s economy falls and it will be very hard for us to get anymore financial assistance,” he explained.

When asked if his family faced financial hardship in the last 7 weeks due to the community spread of the virus, Pase said yes, he was unable to sell his crops but his children in the States were able to support him and his family.

When asked if he supports the call from other local farmers for financial assistance from the government to support farmers, Pase laughed and said, “Why not, let’s ask for it.”

One farmer from Vailoa said, “A farmer’s main goal is to produce a good crop and/ or healthy animals in order to make a living and to feed the population. Without food, the world would slowly die, and farmers work hard every day to keep plenty of crops and animal products in the market to keep that from happening.”

A 59-year-old farmer from Malaeimi also shared his story as to why he believes that working on the land to produce food for the community and to earn money for the family is a gift. According to Fogavai Laupepa, it’s been over 20 years since he’s been working as a local farmer to support his family, church and village.

“This is my only source of income to feed my wife and seven children. I decided to return to the land because I see a lot of blessings from God that are hidden in the land and if I don’t work hard, God will never reveal those blessings through my hard work,” Mr. Laupepa said.

Laupepa also supported the call for a government financial assistance for farmers.