Celebrate National Agriculture Week

The following is a message from HDOA Chairperson Sandra Lee Kunimoto

Published in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin - March 17, 2009

National Agriculture Week is March 15 to 21 and it is a perfect time to support Hawai`i agriculture and increase consumption of locally grown foods by at least 10 percent during this Ag Week.  That’s just a little change in our buying habits that can make a big difference. Increasing our local supply and demand leads to increasing our food self-sufficiency in the long run.

A recent study indicated that if Hawai`i replaced just 10 percent of foods we import with locally grown and manufactured foods, it would generate approximately $94 million for farmers, an economy-wide impact of $188 million in sales, $47 million in earnings and $6 million in state taxes. It was also estimated that it would generate 2,300 jobs.

Taking a specific example, if twice as many Hawai`i consumers bought local eggs instead of mainland eggs, it would generate more than $17 million in sales, $4.58 million in earnings, and more than $500,000 in tax revenues and 217 jobs. The study, conducted jointly by the University of Hawai`i – College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (UH-CTAHR) and the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) can be found at:  http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/add/FoodSSReport

It should concern everyone in Hawai`i that more than 85 percent of our food is imported. If the goal is for our state to become more self-sufficient, growing more of our own food is certainly a priority.  While there are many challenges in this quest, there is one key thing that consumers can do, and that is to request and purchase locally grown foods whenever possible.

One of the effects of these tight economic times has resulted in more of us cooking and entertaining at home.  While watching our budgets, we can still make food purchasing choices that can help to support our local farmers who are also feeling the economic squeeze.  Choosing a locally grown tomato, cucumber, lettuce, eggplant, pineapple, papaya and other fresh produce is healthy, nutritious and helps our farmers.

We are glad to see that after years of not having local milk on store shelves, O`ahu, Maui and Kaua`i now have “Island Fresh” milk available from Island Dairy on the Big Island.  Ventures like this must continue to be supported by consumers if we want our state to become more self-reliant.   HDOA’s Commodities Branch will be helping to serve this fresh milk at the Ag Sustainability Day event on Tuesday at the State Capitol, 4^th floor, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

The Ag Sustainability Day event is being coordinated by the Hawai`i Farm Bureau Federation (HFBF) and involves the University of Hawai`i – College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (UH-CTAHR), HDOA, many island farmers and others in the agriculture industry. There will be a farmers’ market with all proceeds going to the Hawai`i Food Bank.   It’s a good opportunity for the public to see what’s exciting in Hawai`i agriculture.

Increasing our food self-sufficiency and supporting agriculture is important economically; however, there cannot be local foods without local farmlands.

Protecting “important agricultural lands,” or IAL, is key to sustaining agriculture now and preserving it for the future. The agricultural lands must also be affordable with long-term leases so agribusinesses can invest in their businesses.  Likewise, providing affordable water sources for irrigation of crops is just as crucial.

Agriculture keeps our islands lush and green, recharges our aquifers and preserves our open green space that residents, as well as visitors, appreciate. Increased interest in agricultural tourism has provided opportunities to supplement agricultural operations and helped to provide visitors with a new and exciting experience.

Environmentally, replacing imported produce with those locally grown will help to decrease the risk of the introduction of hitchhiking invasive pests and plant diseases that threaten our agriculture and environment. There is also another environmental benefit to buying local as it requires less energy to transport the food to the consumer.  “Carbon footprints” measure the impact of our activities on the environment and the farther goods need to be transported the more energy it takes and the greater the amount of emissions of greenhouse gasses.

The benefits of buying local are significant to our state, not only for food, but for other forms of agriculture, such as horticultural plants.  Sourcing local keeps our hard-earned money flowing through our communities and helps preserve and create jobs for Hawai`i’s residents.  For more information on food self-sufficiency, go to the HDOA website at:  http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/add/food-self-sufficiency

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