Update: Gov mandates food security committee to ensure supply

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — In a Dec. 28 memorandum, Gov. Lemanu Peleti Palepoi Sialega Mauga established the government’s Food Security and Safety Committee, and appointed 19 members — which includes the the American Samoa Chamber of Commerce chair, while the rest of the membership are cabinet directors and senior ASG officials.

According to the memo, the committee shall report to the governor not less than once a quarter. Those reports should include proposed legislation and changes to rules and policies that promote an adequate, safe and stable energy supply.

Members may designate another person to serve in their place by notifying the committee chair and the Governor’s Office in writing. Chairman of the committee is local the Homeland Security director.

“From the onset, the health and safety of our people have been at the forefront of our decision making,” the governor said. “Critical issues that impact the health and safety of our people such as food security and safety of food are a top priority.”

To ensure that these issues are fully addressed, the governor established the Food Security and Safety Committee.

“The focus of the committee will be to assess our food sources and propose policies that will secure our food production as well as our physical and economic access to a sufficient food supply,” Lemanu explained.

Establishment of the committee comes following an Agriculture Department “Food Security and Food Safety” presentation during a cabinet meeting in July this year, where the governor told cabinet members that the territory does well with food security most of the time, but there will come a time when there will be major interruptions of food supply with shipping delays, as the territory is mostly dependent on imported goods.

The governor pointed to national news reporting about some experts who predict a “recess” in the future after all the federal benefits from the pandemic are over with or used up. Therefore, he said it’s important that “we start discussing and planning” — in the event it occurs, it is important that the territory is already prepared.

The local Homeland Security Department recommended as part of the presentation, establishment of a government task force or working group to conduct a study and assessment of food security in the territory. (See Samoa News edition Aug. 2nd for details.)

Samoa News points out that the Lolo Administration in 2019 established the government’s food and security commission, which among other things looked at security of food and water in the territory.

ASG and local leaders over the years have raised concerns over food security in American Samoa, especially because the territory is dependent on imports. And this was evident from late 2018 to early 2019 when there was a labor dispute at the US west coast ports, which delayed shipments to the territory.

And this labor dispute coupled with other global challenges prompted the Lolo Administration to establish the food security commission. Samoa News efforts to obtain information on whether a report by this commission was issued have been unsuccessful.