Taro Trade and Cost of Production in Selected Areas of the American Affiliated Pacific

Abstract

Much of the taro (Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum) that is produced in the Pacific is not traded in the market, but rather it is used for other non-market purposes. Taro is used for home consumption, for social and cultural purposes, and it is sold in the market for income. This article reports general economic factors which influence taro production in American Samoa, Pohnpei, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Hawai'i. The rapid rural assessments provide a look at taro on islands that are in many different stages of economic development and of cultural intrusion. Generally, as an island developed economically and cultural intrusion increased, taro became less important in the diet and imported starches such as rice became more important. Farmers' motivations for growing taro change from sociocultural and subsistence to commercial, and with this change the use of mechanical equipment and fertilizers increased. Taro remains a viable and important crop in all of the areas studied with the possible exception of Guam.