COMMENTARY
State's farming industry is changing

By John Griffin

A recent conference on agriculture in Hawai'i brought home to me — a nonfarm person — several vital points about the future of agriculture in the Islands.

One is that farming still involves much hard work, sometimes setbacks and often gambles.

At Nalo Farms in Waimanalo, Reuben Remedios tends various kinds of lettuce. Nalo Farms has been cited as an example of successful diversified agriculture. Advertiser library photo

Yes, sugar (the onetime "King Cane" is down to two plantations, on Kaua'i and Maui) and pineapple (central O'ahu and Maui) are still with us as the state's leading crops and not to be scoffed at as growers seek new variations.

Fresh pineapple, especially the new sweeter varieties, is finding new markets, and its outer husks may be turned into silage — badly needed, locally produced animal feed — helping the struggling livestock sector to survive. Sugar is producing a gourmet product and it may be a valued source of ethanol.

However, diversified ag is now bigger and growing. And it presents a wide range of activities — from small farm lots leased by former plantation workers and immigrants, to sweeping big farms, to old ranches in ag tourism, to exciting new kinds of aquaculture, to more interesting farmers' markets, to special food and floral niches in world markets.

Indeed, that word "niche" is one most frequently used to describe Hawai'i's hopes for selling more of its ag products abroad, even as we try to produce more food locally to replace imports.

A farmer tills the soil with a pick in an agricultural plot in Mililani. This farm land is in an area that is being crowded out by subdivisions. Advertiser library photo

They are running two races. One is to keep finding and developing new export niches ahead of the inevitable competition and imitators abroad. For example, Kona coffee, which has found a world market despite its higher cost, could be followed by gourmet Hawai'i teas.

The second race is to produce food for the local market efficiently enough to replace imports. That is already happening with some vegetables. Hawai'i will never be totally self-sufficient — take rice, potatoes and meats, for examples.

But for the sake of our economy and security, we can and should do better at reducing imports.

At the same time, both Hawai'i's exports, from sugar and pineapples to mac nuts and exotic florals, and some of our products consumed here face more foreign competition. In this, we are part of an increasingly globalizing economy — the new flat earth, as columnist-author Tom Friedman says in his new book.

So here are some basic points about agriculture by Dean Andrew Hashimoto of the University of Hawai'i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, some members of his staff, and others:

Farmers protested in front of Honolulu Hale this year in response to having to pay higher property taxes under a new law. The unstable status of ag land makes it difficult for farmers to invest in equipment and infrastructure. Advertiser library photo

• Hawai'i's total ag sector (farmers, dealers, processors, transporters, etc.) produces $4.3 billion in gross revenue annually and up to 18 percent of gross state product. It involves more than 4,600 farms and more than 38,350 people in farming, processing and related activities. (Note: figures vary depending on which agency is counting what, and those above are the high end.)

• Agriculture's importance must also be measured by what it does to provide economic diversification, open ambiance for tourism and residents' enjoyment, and for preserving water resources. Some say, for example, that the value of the Big Island's Parker Ranch is less in its cattle and more in its open space and Hawaiian-western atmosphere.

• Food security is an old-new topic now getting more attention. Many still remember the shortages during shipping or dock strikes. Now we have new concerns about forms of terrorism cutting off food supplies.

With less warehousing, Hawai'i has less than a seven-day supply of many foods, especially perishables. Some 90 percent of our food is still imported.

• Hawai'i people have favorable attitudes toward agriculture as a means for growth and preserving open space. But old perceptions about plantations need to be amended. Farming is not the same, and now we have many talented entrepreneurs in large, small and special growing operations. The variety alone is dazzling.

• While farm employment is declining nationally, Hawai'i is an exception in that ours is growing. Still, finding and encouraging young people to go into agriculture remains a challenge for UH and other institutions. The UH ag college's enrollment is up 26 percent, and public attitudes about farming seem to be changing.

Kats Higa, at left, gets help in his onion patch from his son, Nelson. He has been farming in Hawai'i Kai for 28 years. Subdivisions have flourished in the area. Advertiser library photo

• The debate about "natural" vs. genetically modified food crops is important, difficult and ongoing in the university and community. Technology can be good or bad, but at best, responsible biotech is a useful and necessary tool. Coexistence should be possible — and a goal.

• Good ag land is available, some 100,000 acres around the Islands. Perhaps 10,000 acres could grow all the perishable food Hawai'i needs. But it's not that simple. Key factors in utilizing it are the high costs of some land, tax laws and leasing difficulties, water, labor and transportation.

• A 1978 amendment to Hawai'i's Constitution says we must "conserve and protect agricultural lands, promote diversified agriculture, increase agricultural self-sufficiency and assure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands."

But the Legislature has failed to follow up with measures designating and setting aside land to be preserved for agriculture. It's not an easy matter given the pressures for urban and other development, especially on O'ahu.

Regardless, action is needed before more prime ag land is paved over.

John Griffin, a frequent contributor, is former editor of The Advertiser's editorial pages.