Organic bounty could bring success to farmers
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
WAIMANALO — On a back road in Waimanalo, the only sounds at Ko Farms are the gentle spray of water on young crops and the rhythmic tilling of the soil by a worker.
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Everything is done by hand on the organic farm, a practice that sets it apart from other farms and fills a niche in the marketplace.
Waimanalo farmer Daniel Ko works on a patch of a variety of lettuce: deer horn, bib, butter crunch and red rapids. Ko Farms grows banana, about 100 different types of salad greens, herbs, eggplant, beans and okra.
Recently, the federal government adopted organic standards that are recognized in other countries and could open an international market for Hawai'i's organic products.
With the reported growth in organic farming across the United States (around 20 percent every year in the past decade), many are saying the new standards will boost the industry and open new lands to agriculture that will benefit consumers and the environment.
Richard Bowen, coordinator for the University of Hawai'i sustainable agriculture program, said the growth, which is mimicking the bottled water phenomenon, comes from growing awareness of the effects that chemical fertilizers and pesticides used in farming are having on people's health.
Plus there's an environmental movement that recognizes that preserving the environment begins with caring for the land and being aware of what goes into the soil.
"It all starts with healthy soil," Bowen said.
Damian Paul, president of the Hawai'i Organic Farmers Association, predicted that the new federal standards will make it easier for local growers to sell in Asia and European markets, where grown-in-Hawai'i products are desirable and a demand for such items as noni, 'awa and coffee exists.
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Although HOFA has certified Hawai'i products for a decade, the federal standard will give products the backing of the U.S. government, Paul said.
Among the abundance of fruits and vegetables at Ko Farms are from top, curly kale, shiso and red amaranth.
HOFA is one of 42 organizations nationwide that recently received accreditation to certify organic food.
"The USDA accreditation program has developed reciprocity with the European Union, Japan and other developed countries in the global marketplace," said Paul, who owns The Source Natural Foods Store in Kailua. "This means that HOFA-certified products will be accepted as 'organic' in the primary markets of the world."
The new standards, which exclude irradiation, and the use of genetically engineered crops and sewage sludge, will bring in new farmers especially with land opening after the decline of plantations, he said.
For Daniel and Therese Ko, owners of Ko Farms in Waimanalo and Palolo, the new federal certification could make it easier to go overseas, but production would have to be increased and shipping issues would have to be resolved, they said.
Ko Farms grows banana, about 100 different types of salad greens, herbs, eggplant, beans and okra on nine acres of land.
"We have our sights on Japan," said Daniel Ko, 38. "We're too small to concentrate on China or other parts of Asia."
Japan is an ideal market because people there are educated about the value of organic food and are willing to pay for it, Ko said, adding that the country has good organic practices but the cost of land is expensive, driving the cost of organic food there higher.
Hawai'i has 70 certified organic farms, three on O'ahu, and 49 others that have applied for certification, said Bari Green, HOFA office administrator. Of the certified farms, 61 gross less than $60,000 a year, Green said, and nine others gross between $60,000 and $300,000.
Ginger, mixed vegetables and honey are among the higher volume production, but citrus fruits, exotic fruits, banana, pineapple, noni, 'awa and coffee are also being grown organically, she said, adding that HOFA doesn't keep records of exact production quantities.
Bowen, who is also a UH professor in the agriculture department, said the new standards and double-digit growth will bring big business into the industry, causing it to grow even faster.
But the growth may backfire on the small farmers as big business or industrial organic farms move in, he said, adding that as the competition increases, the prices of organic food will drop.
"The organic premium, the premium farmers get for being certified organic, is going to get smaller," Bowen said.
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
