The american samoa community college division of agriculture, community and natural resources (ascc acnr) will continue to implement its planned programs addressing the critical issues described in…

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the American Samoa Community College Division of Agriculture, Community and Natural Resources $3.328 million under the Hatch Act formula grant program (CFDA 10.203) on October 1, 2025, for the period October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2027.

The award funds taro crop improvement through conventional breeding, field propagation, and micropropagation to develop and multiply new taro varieties evaluated for disease resistance, yield, nutritional composition, and eating quality. The program will produce disease-resistant taro varieties that yield well under American Samoa's local conditions, have superior nutritional content, and are favored by local consumers to sustain production of this culturally important traditional staple crop.

The award also funds vegetable crop variety trials and demonstration plots to identify and promote nutritious vegetable crops and varieties suited to American Samoa's growing conditions. Agriculture extension agents will distribute seeds and seedlings to farmers for commercial production and to schools and 4-H clubs for vegetable gardening, generating a set of recommendations for crops and varieties that meet nutritional and agronomic criteria. Work is performed in American Samoa and addresses the NIFA 2026 plan of work priorities in agricultural sustainability and food security, ecosystem resiliency, health and wellness, and youth development.

The american samoa community college division of agriculture, community and natural resources (ascc acnr) will continue to implement its planned programs addressing the critical issues described in the 2026 nifa plan of work: agricultural sustainability and food security, ecosystem, family and community resiliency, health and wellness, and youth development. Research activities to address the planned programs in 2026 include taro crop improvement through conventional breeding. Production and evaluation of new taro varieties is important to identify varieties with acceptable eating quality and yields and tolerances to heat, salinity, pests and diseases. Ascc acnr will continue the taro breeding program, with subsequent field propagation and micropropagation to develop and multiply new taro varieties that will be evaluated for disease resistance, yield, nutritional composition, and eating quality. The effort will produce new disease resistant taro varieties that yield well under local conditions, have superior nutritional content, and are favored by local consumers, thus helping sustain local production of this culturally important traditional staple crop. Increasing local production and consumption of fresh vegetables is critical for strengthening food security and reducing the incidence of noncomm unicable disease in the islands. Ascc acnr will continue conducting vegetable crops variety trials and demonstration plots to identify and promote vegetable crops and varieties that are highly nutritious and which grow well in american samoa. The result will be a set of recommendations for vegetable crops and varieties that meet these criteria. Agriculture extension agents will also promote these crops and varieties by providing seeds and seedlings to farmers for commercial production and to schools 4 h clubs for vegetable gardening. Increased diversity of crops in the market and in home and school gardens can bring about enhanced income for farmers and enhanced food security and better nutrition for all residents. Under the nifa approved invasive ants project, ascc acnr will continue documentation of american samoa's native and exotic ANT fauna through curation of the local reference collection and development of identification aids with the goal of strengthening local capacity to detect and respond to invasive ANT incursions. A major focus has been documenting efficacy of control methods for the invasive little fire ANT which was first detected in the territory in 2018. Local agency personnel will be trained in survey and control methods that have proven effective in american samoa thus increasing the territory's capacity to mitigate invasive ants' impacts on the local economy and environment. Mosquito vectors of diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, zika, and lymphatic filariasis remain a critical concern. Ascc acnr will continue research on these vectors, conducting surveys to document prevalences of the filarial parasites and arboviruses in the local mosquito populations. This information will support operational decision making for the filariasis elimination program and alert clinicians to the presence of arboviruses. Two additional research projects are focusing on conservation concerns. American samoa is almost unique among inhabited pacific archipelagoes in having relatively intact natural ecosystems. These ecosystems provide numerous services and other benefits to the community, supporting sustainability, resilience, and the samoan way of life. Ascc acnr conservation research projects are currently focused on implementing biological control for an invasive scale insect threatening native trees and protecting the last remnant population of a samoan endemic butterfly. Through these hatch grant funded efforts, ascc acnr research continues to meet critical needs in our community while contributing to advancing tropical agriculture and forestry while preserving the ecosystems that undergird pacific island economies and cultures.