Path to food self-sufficiency

HILO — West Hawaii’s four main agricultural areas constitute 37.2 percent of the 42,700 acres in crop production on the entire island, but the majority of the crops grown here do not contribute to the island’s food supply.

Islandwide, half of the agricultural production is in cash crops such as macadamia nuts (21,000 acres), coffee (6,000 acres) and flowers and foliage crops (1,700 acres). On the plus side, Hawaii Island produces 95 percent of the fresh milk, more than 51 percent of the seafood, 34 percent of the vegetables, 32 percent of the fruit and 17 percent of the fresh beef consumed on the island.

Those are some of the findings in a report released Thursday that creates a baseline of where Hawaii County stands on its path to food self-sufficiency. The $65,000 study, the first such study in the state, was conducted by Donna Delparte of the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s Geography and Environmental Studies Department and Jeffrey Melrose, principal planner at Island Planning.

With the exception of 841 acres of dairy pasture pegging the north end of West Hawaii, and massive macadamia nut orchards pegging the south, the majority of West Hawaii’s agriculture is in small farms growing coffee, macadamia nuts or a mixture of the two. But growing demands for local produce from area restaurants, as well as a thriving tropical fruit crop, are moving the area toward producing more food to consume locally.

“We have to learn how to blow on the embers of these places that are already established,” Melrose said at a news conference presenting the report to Mayor Billy Kenoi on Thursday. “The circumstances are unique for each place.”

Melrose said it makes more sense to capitalize on an area’s strengths, rather than compensate for them by, for example, piping in water at great expense. Many of the west-side mauka regions are rocky and dry, he said.

Kenoi said his office has already begun implementing plans based on the report’s findings, such as working with the state to create a slaughterhouse in Hamakua to increase local grass-fed beef production.

‘This is what we need to move forward in a very strategic, tactical way,” Kenoi said, “so we’re not just running around talking about self-sufficiency and sustainability without any hard data.”

Melrose emphasized it’s not all up to government to provide the solution. The report includes 100 suggestions for consumers, institutional buyers, restaurants, food retailers, farmers, ranches, fishermen, food processors, landowners and government agencies to help make the island more sustainable.

Consumers, for example, can learn to eat what the island already produces and in the season the island produces it. Hawaii Island exports almost 12 million pounds of sweet potatoes annually, yet many of its residents eat the imported white potatoes instead. Shopping at farmers markets and patronizing “farm to fork” restaurants also helps increase food self-sufficiency.

It’s estimated 13 percent of a household’s budget goes for food. Of that, only 53 percent is consumed in the home, the study found. That means institutional buyers and restaurants play an important role in the food equation. Branding local products would help increase consumer awareness, the study said.

“Everybody has a role n this,” Melrose said. “It is a kakou thing.”

Milk is a perfect example. Hawaii Island’s two dairies — Clover Leaf Dairy in North Kohala and Big Island Dairy in Ookala — are the only remaining dairies in the state and produce 14 percent of the state’s milk demand. All of the milk is processed by Meadow Gold in Hilo under a variety of labels. But only a few grocers, such as KTA, actually brands the milk as a local product.

The report, with charts and maps, is available at https://geodata.sdal.hilo.hawaii.edu/techgis/sdal/GEODATA/COH_Ag_Project.html.