EDITORIAL
Irradiator facility key to agricultural success
Plans for a commercial-scale plant irradiator facility on O'ahu, now more than two or three years away, should be put on a fast track.
The facility would be a boost to both existing growers and to our emerging tropical fruit industry. Hawai'i has a rich potential as an exporter of top quality and exotic crops, but that potential will not be reached until and unless we can deal with concerns about the exportation of tropical pests such as the fruit fly.
That's where irradiation comes in.
According to Big Island Bureau Chief Kevin Dayton, the state Department of Agriculture is encouraging private operators to build a large-scale irradiator, perhaps near Honolulu International Airport
No contractor has been identified and it could be two or three years before a facility is built, state officials said.
If at all possible, that timetable should be shortened.
The state's only commercial irradiator on the Big Island processes four million to five million pounds of fruit for export every year. Without that facility, Hawai'i would be unable to export papaya and other fruits and vegetables vulnerable to fruit fly infestation.
Other treatment options have not proven efficient enough to support large-scale export operations.
A second plant, particularly one strategically next to the airport shipping hub, would give an exponential boost to the local agricultural industry.
Growers of tomatoes and other farm crops could use the irradiator to prepare their produce for export sales during seasonal growing lulls on the Mainland and Mexico. On a smaller scale, the irradiator would allow local produce to be treated and used in airline catering.
Down the line, growers of specialty crops including exotic fruits could more aggressively market their produce across the country and in Japan, knowing that their products would be pest-free.
With its year-round growing climate and clean environment, Hawai'i is a natural producer of high-quality, high-value export crops.
An irradiator facility on O'ahu, which could also serve growers on Maui, Moloka'i and Kaua'i, is critical to making that vision a working reality.
