Food Security – Hawaii Agriculture

August 4, 2021 Food Security, General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Urban agriculture in Honolulu

Hawaiʻi’s heavy reliance on imported goods and the future impact of climate change on food production are just two of the reasons why a UH Mānoa global environmental science senior focused her project on urban agriculture (vertical farming, community gardens, hydroponics and greenhouses) in Honolulu. In this public impact research project, Seraphina King conducted interviews with stakeholders, and reviewed existing literature and case studies to determine how Honolulu government and non-governmental organizations are engaging in urban agriculture.

“The research is ongoing. So far, I would say that urban agriculture could have positive outcomes for Honolulu,” King said. “However, it is hard to implement due to competing land uses and current policies that limit zoning. My research seems to point to what some scholars have said about urban agriculture—it cannot be a substitute for food imports but could bolster community resilience.”

King, who was mentored by Department of Urban and Regional Planning Associate Professor Priyam Das, said she hoped attendees of her presentation gained a “better understanding of urban agriculture and what it can offer in terms of expanding food production in cities.” She added, “It might even spark interest in thinking of ways they want to become engaged in urban agriculture projects in their communities.”

June 25, 2021 Agribusiness Development Corporation, Agriculture Grants, Food Security, General Ag News and Notes, Sustainable Agriculture Post a Comment

University of Hawaii breaks ground on food entrepreneurship facility

Pacific Business News
By Janis L. Magin

The University of Hawaii Community Colleges broke ground this week and plans to start construction in July on the Wahiawa Product Development Center in Central Oahu.

The $12 million project will turn a metal warehouse at 100 California Ave. into a value-added product development center where students from Leeward Community College can learn entrepreneurship skills while developing value-added food products.

Students will be able to develop products such as baked goods, pickled products, ice creams and juices, which will help local farmers utilize off-grade produce as ingredients, minimizing food waste.

“The Wahiawa Product Development Center will be instrumental in supporting the diversification of our local economy by adding value to Hawaii’s agricultural and food sector industries,” UH Community Colleges Vice President Erika Lacro said in a statement. “It will take the knowledge, creativity, innovation and uniqueness Hawaii offers to the next level, creating a robust workforce pipeline and providing the tools and skills for local farmers and entrepreneurs to take their value-added food products to market and beyond. Bringing this to the heart of Oahu achieves a critical milestone for our state in food security and sustainability.”

The state Department of Agriculture’s Agribusiness Development Corp. bought the property from Tamura’s in November 2013 for $4.29 million, and UH launched plans for the center in late 2019 with the publication of a draft environmental assessment. Ushijima Architects is designing the project.

“Products that are made-in-Hawaii are highly desired worldwide and we have a huge opportunity with the WPDC to capitalize on that global demand. Value-added entrepreneurship is critical for economic recovery as we look to strengthen the agricultural industry and diversify our economy to be less reliant on tourism,” state Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz said in a statement. “Wahiawa welcomes this community investment and looks forward to working with the University of Hawaii in the years to come.”

May 22, 2021 Food Security, General Ag News and Notes, Hawaii Maritime Shipping, Jones Act, Transportation Post a Comment

Don’t waive the Jones Act — scrap it, by Bloomberg News

Keene Sentinel –

Another domestic energy crisis, another waiver of the Jones Act. –

In response to the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline, which delivers about 45 percent of the fuel for the Eastern Seaboard, President Joe Biden’s administration said that it would allow two exemptions to the 101-year-old act, which restricts waterborne commerce between U.S. ports to ships that are built, crewed and owned by Americans. Citgo Petroleum Corp. and Valero Energy Corp. now have permission to use foreign vessels to transport oil products between the Gulf Coast and the East Coast

Hurricanes forced previous presidents to suspend the law to ensure deliveries of food, fuel and other goods. This time, Biden should face reality and bury it under the waves.

As with most protectionist measures, the Jones Act harms the very people it purports to help. Because oceangoing Jones Act-compliant ships are more expensive, and there aren’t that many of them, the law leads to higher prices for goods, more congested roadways and pipelines, and additional pollution from greater reliance on carbon-intensive transportation.

Its market-bending distortions could scarcely be exaggerated. As a direct result of the law, refineries on both coasts can find it cheaper to import foreign oil than to use domestic sources. Refineries in the Gulf Coast choose to send their products to Latin America instead of the East Coast. The U.S. may be a natural gas powerhouse, but it has no Jones Act-compliant liquefied natural gas carriers, which would cost two to three times as much as equivalent ships from South Korea. So Puerto Rico and Hawaii source their LNG from overseas, northeast ports look to Trinidad and Tobago, and U.S. natural gas goes abroad.

The act is even undermining the Biden administration’s vaunted green-energy plans. Offshore wind projects need Jones Act-compliant turbine-installation vessels. Right now, the U.S. has one — under construction, that is, and due to launch in 2023 at a cost of $500 million. Hitting the administration’s goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind-energy production by 2030 will require more vessels, which the law will only make more expensive.

It would be one thing if the Jones Act met its stated goal of sustaining a robust merchant fleet. But the number of Jones Act-eligible U.S. vessels in 2019 was 99, versus 193 in 2000. From 1960 to 2014, even as U.S. output more than quadrupled, the tonnage of domestic contiguous coastal shipping dropped by 44 percent. America’s few remaining commercial shipyards are expensive and superannuated: Indeed, some companies that shamelessly defend their Jones Act monopolies send their ships to China for repairs, which is cheaper even with the 50 percent tariff that they pay the U.S. government for the privilege.

The Jones Act survives because it supports the narrow interests of a handful of shipping companies and maritime unions, which pump out a reliable stream of campaign cash to the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus. Never mind the costs to all Americans — especially those in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, who depend heavily on maritime commerce.

There are better ways to build up coastal commerce and the maritime industry, from investing in neglected port infrastructure and public shipyards to changing the tax treatment of U.S.-flagged ships. Yet the Biden administration seems committed to preserving the Jones Act, whatever the consequences. Here’s a question for the White House to ponder: If this law is so successful and so vital, why does it so often need to be waived in cases of emergency?

December 29, 2020 Food Security, General Ag News and Notes, Moringa (Kalamungay) Post a Comment

PARC working on agricultural promotion to ensure food security in Thar

Associated Press of Pakistan –

ISLAMABAD, Dec 29 (APP): Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) was working to ensure food security in Thar desert and for the purpose it had cultivated different kinds of fruits, vegetables and fodder crops to promote agriculture sector and create livelihood opportunities for the locals.

Talking to APP on Tuesday the Chairman PARC Dr Muhammad Azeem said the Council was engaged to strengthen government’s efforts to eliminate malnutrition and hunger by intervening through agriculture and livestock development.

The PARC, he said, in collaboration with non-governmental organisations had developed different farmers cluster and was providing seeds of different beans to to the farmers to enhance yields.

“We are providing about 200 to 300 mounds seeds of different beans, besides providing 50 to 60 mound bean for the farmers of Tharparker, he added.

“We are also working on preservation of local species and preserved about 50 local species including trees, medicinal plants and cultivated moringa”.

Meanwhile, Dr Attaullah Director PARC North Zone told that 14 varieties of guava, matching the local ecology, were also developed and distributed among the farmers to develop fruit orchids.

Besides, 38 varieties of dates were also grown and 13 types of different grasses over 10 acres of land were also grown, he said adding that these interventions had helped create livelihood opportunities as well as fulfilling the food requirements of the local communities.

Meanwhile, forest blocks were also established on 4 acres and different fruit plants including olive cultivated, he said adding that jojoba plants were grown over 45 acres in order to develop orchards and fruit farming in these areas.

In collaboration with local foundation, about 50,000 plants of different kinds including fruits and trees for shadow had also been provided to 20 villages, he added.

“We had installed a fertilizer plant to prepare fertilizer by using locust during current campaign against desert locust and distributed about 1500 bags of fertilizers among local farmers for producing organic agriculture products,” he added.

He said that PARC was also striving for mechanization of agriculture sector in these areas and helping the local farmers through providing them technical assistance.

December 17, 2020 Food Security, Onions, Vegtables, Webinar Post a Comment

2020 Onion Variety Trial Webinar and Onion Distribution

Please join us to discuss the results of the 2020 onion variety trial. This year included 16 short-day varieties, both yellow and red.

When: Tuesday, January 5th at 4:30 PM –
Where: Online, via Zoom –
What: How to select onion varieties and the variety trial results –

There will also be a drive-thru distribution of the onion varieties to conduct at-home taste testing. This is open to Maui commercial growers only. The drive-thru will be held next week on December 21, 22, and 23. Times and location will be shared with interested growers upon registration.

Download the flyer for more information.

Thank you!
Kylie Tavares
Edible Crops, Sustainable Agriculture, and Farm Food Safety Extension
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Dept. of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences
Maui Agricultural Research and Extension Center
424 Mauna Place
Kula, HI 96790

December 17, 2020 Farm to Table, Food Security, General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Time to eat local

The Cougar Connection –
By Natalie Clay –

Hawaii, despite its reputation as paradise, has its fair share of problems, one of which is food security. Currently, Hawaii only produces roughly 10-15% of its necessary food supply, while the remaining 85-90% is imported from across the ocean. Relying on the importation of food usually means consuming foods with more pesticides and genetic modifications that lack the nutrients of fresh produce. But most importantly, imported food leaves the islands vulnerable to tragedies that can disrupt shipping. Eating local food is a much safer option, supports local workers, and promotes land sustainability in a time where development is ever increasing. Unfortunately, Hawaii’s government has not been taking the serious action needed to improve this situation—therefore, it is time for the community to step in.

In the 2016 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress, Governor David Ige said, “I’m committed to doubling Hawaii’s food production by 2020,” endorsing many projects, startups, partnerships and funds to meet this goal. For Scott Enright, Chair of the Department of Agriculture, Ige had just sent the department into “hyper-drive”. However, Ige failed to meet this goal and has since extended the deadline to 2030. Even after the goal’s extension, Ige and the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) have not been able to determine the status and progression of the goal. The Department of Agriculture doesn’t even have baseline information as to how much local food the state was producing in the first place, nor do they know how many farmers are producing food for a living. Lawmakers such as Rep. Matt Lopresti had been questioning the Governor’s and the HDOA’s ability to achieve this goal since the beginning. “So we’re going to double I don’t know, which is I don’t know times two. What’s the metric we’re going to be using?,” Lopresti said. It is clear that we must hold our government officials accountable to fulfilling their promises, especially for such an essential need.

It is important as citizens of a democracy to use our voices to promote change. The traditional ways of using that voice are still valid, such as writing letters to legislators, signing petitions, and speaking up at neighborhood board meetings. It must be made clear that in future elections, a candidate’s dedication to improving food security is a determining factor. Oftentimes the government does not hear the voices of the few, but the voices of the many, so it is important to encourage others to become active in this issue as well. If officials see that this issue is of utmost importance to the people of Hawaii, they will work harder at achieving their goals.

There are also ways that we as individuals can support the farmers who provide local food, particularly direct purchase of their produce. For those in the Hawaii Kai area, there are five farms right behind the Kaiser High School campus, some of which feature stands where you can purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. And all over the state there are community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs where you can order bags full of local produce. Some of these programs, such as Oahu Fresh, even offer the convenience of subscription and delivery. Local farms also struggle with the cost of importing fertilizer and animal feed, so you can also donate your food waste to farms that accept it, such as Keiki and Plow, one of the farms behind Kaiser. Any way you can support local food, from attending Agriculture Awareness Day at the capital, to buying Paniolo Cattle Co. beef at Safeway, helps to improve food security in our island community.

Promoting local food production is the best way to fight Hawaii’s struggle with food security. Since our government is struggling to improve the situation, we must take action ourselves. We can stress that Hawaii’s agriculture is necessary, and that officials who do not strive to improve its circumstances will not be elected again. Hawaii will soon be islands that know nothing other than importation, but if we support our local farmers, we can lead Hawaii into a greener, more fertile future.

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Category: Food Security