Ambrosio “Ambi” Alubia, an established farmer residing on Rota who exports produce to Guam and Saipan, has witnessed significant success in the growth of his papaya fruits following his participation in the Northern Marianas College Cooperative Research, Extension, and Education Services’ Regenerative Agriculture Workshops along with technical assistance provided by CREES personnel.
The workshops offer a variety of valuable knowledge for farmers of any experience level to establish and maintain a prosperous regenerative agroforestry plot.
Alubia participated in the NMC-CREES November 2023 Regenerative Agriculture Workshops, geared specifically towards farmers with a goal of improving crop yields and crop quality. Alubia had meetings with Dr. Craig Elevitch, Extension Agent Jesse Deleon Guerrero, and the CREES Agroforestry team to address agricultural goals, conduct site assessments, discuss plant selection, and determine optimal planting configurations. These collaborative sessions resulted in the finalization of a plot design, followed by its installation. Since then, Alubia's papaya plants have thrived, producing an abundant harvest of large, healthy fruit. He attributes the recent flourishing of his papaya plants to the regenerative agriculture practices he implemented as a result of the workshop. Alubia took notice of particular practices from regenerative methods such as mulching, cover cropping, growing a variety of diverse plant species densely, and providing occasional shade – techniques he hadn’t implemented before.
This new area of land that Alubia used for testing the knowledge that he obtained from the CREES workshops was not ideal for farming due to the soil conditions and the thick fern ground cover. Running water is also not available in the area, so Alubia hauls it in by truck for irrigation. However, Alubia thought these conditions provided a great opportunity to see if the Regenerative Ag techniques that he learned about would work.
“We are pleased to learn that the proof of concept project by Mr. Alubia has yielded desirable results. I commend Ambi for his willingness to learn and adapt his farming techniques. We have also learned a lot from him as well,” stated Interim Dean Patty Coleman.
As a seasoned farmer, Alubia expressed his appreciation for the methods suggested by the workshops. He credits the learned practices he’s applied to his farm now as a result of the November workshops and the follow-up meetings with CREES Extension personnel and Dr. Craig Elevitch, Agroforestry Expert, as an essential part of meeting his commercial farm production goals. With decades of experience in farming, Alubia’s skills have been elevated as he proudly maintains his successful agroforestry plot.
Want to learn more about starting your own food forest? Look out for the next Regenerative Agriculture Workshops Series in Fall 2024! Please contact Jesse Deleon Guerrero at (670) 237-6876/6840 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..