Avegalio said that local farmers must take advantage of this assistance from the government and plant and produce more. He said if local farmers cannot fill the void left by stopping the produce from Samoa & Tonga, the government will have no choice but to allow these goods back in.
The cooperative produced planting materials and test plots for the Department of Agriculture and distributed the materials to farmers for free. The cooperative has been running a campaign on local radio stations to "Buy Local" produce such as taro, potatoes, fruits and vegetables.
Given the value of the American dollar, the American Samoan market had been targeted by Samoan farmers that ship taro and other produce over on the Lady Naomi's weekly trips to the territory.