Hawaii farmers challenged state legislators Friday to respond to the needs of a struggling farming industry facing the same soaring costs of other businesses but believing it's not getting the same support.
Members of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation made their appeals to a joint House committee session Friday as the House members prepare for a 2009 legislative session that anticipates little money and plenty of demands.
Farm Bureau President Dean Okimoto said the effort was meant to establish that agriculture in Hawaii deserves fair treatment at the legislative tables.
"One of the messages we're trying to get across is that farming is at great risk," he said in a telephone interview. "Agriculture is the Rodney Dangerfield of the economy. Everybody uses us; everybody says they like us. Nobody helps us."
He cited heavy focus by the state to promote Hawaii's visitor industry, compared with limited funding provided to support and promote isle-grown agricultural products.
"We feel now that we really need a catalyst for all the things that we do. If we didn't have agriculture, we wouldn't have green fields that make the islands attractive; we wouldn't have the diversity of food products for the tourists when they go to our restaurants," he said.
"We want help in delivering that message, too."
A key issue, he said, is establishing that water for agriculture is important to the state, citing a recent decision of the State Commission on Water Resource Management to restore flows in eight East Maui streams that will reduce water available for farms.
"One of our points was on water: What is the state's water standard for agriculture? The state policy on water is not really clear when it comes to assessing our needs as a priority," he said.
Okimoto, president of Nalo Farms based in Waimanalo on Oahu, also sympathized with farmers on the Neighbor Islands, noting that they face even higher costs as farmers in Maui and Hawaii counties are being hit hard by continuing drought conditions.
Both farmers and legislators attending the joint meeting of the House committees on agriculture and water-land acknowledged that the 2009 session will have little to offer in financial help for farming.
Upcountry Rep. Kyle Yamashita, a member of the Water, Land & Ocean Resources Committee, said there was little new information offered while farmers were concerned that state budget cutting will go deeper into programs that help them now.
"There was nothing really new in the discussions," Yamashita said. "Their concern was like with other departments' budget cuts, that they are fearful their programs will be cut and they're having a hard time as well. They're in the same economic landscape as all of the agencies and businesses.
"From what I heard, they don't want to be above everyone else. They just want to be considered equally, and I think that's fair. We have to look at ways to make sure that farmers can remain viable," Yamashita said.
While there may be little available in funds for agricultural programs, Yamashita said, the Legislature can take steps to deal with regulatory issues that don't involve money.
"The Legislature can try to focus on nonmoney items and look at how they can help agriculture," he said.
"It's an area where water becomes important. We can give agriculture a priority. You can't have agriculture without water; the farmers, if they want to expand their operations, if the county wants a new ag park, they need the resources."
He was echoing concerns raised by Maui vegetable grower Warren Watanabe, who is also executive director of the Maui County Farm Bureau Federation.
Availability of water becomes a key issue with Mayor Charmaine Tavares saying she supports creating new agricultural parks in Maui County, Watanabe said. Farmers around Maui have been struggling with three years of below-normal rainfall that restricts their plantings.
"How are you going to provide water for a new agricultural park?" he asked.
With the current drought situation, the county Department of Water Supply has called for domestic users to restrict their consumption but has not imposed conservation restrictions on agricultural users. That allows Maui crop growers to continue to produce their normal harvest, Watanabe said. But it doesn't allow them to do more.
"With a single system, in a drought, if we get to an emergency situation, the people in their homes will come first and agriculture comes second," Watanabe said. "Farmers understand that. You cannot be planting more; you cannot be speculating on the market because you never know if it gets bad enough that everybody will get cut back and you will lose production."
He expressed frustration with county planning processes, noting that he's reviewed 1961 plans for upgrading agricultural water systems for Upcountry.
"They were talking then about needing an irrigation system for Upcountry and about the need for the system to alleviate a drought affecting the Lower Kula line," he said. "That was 1961."
Both the Lower and Upper Kula waterlines were constructed to provide for farmers in the prime agricultural district on Maui, but increasing numbers of housing projects are tapping the systems that rely on three reservoirs in Olinda and Piiholo, drawing water from streams in the Waikamoi forest reserve.
Construction was initiated on a agricultural waterline for the Upper Kula system five years ago, but easement and funding problems have delayed the work.
Watanabe, who participated in the legislative presentation, said the Farm Bureau also emphasized that higher costs for fertilizer, fuel and supplies and for getting products to market are threatening the viability of farms.
"That's why the number-one problem for farmers, when we did a survey, was transportation. That's the issue because it affects the cost of everything being imported, the cost of
all the inputs, and of course
if you're running electrical equipment, the cost of electricity is way up," he said.
He estimated that transportation and power costs for farmers have tripled over the past year, while the prices they receive have remained the same, if not fallen, because of the weak visitor industry.
In its presentation, the Farm Bureau noted that the market price for won bok at the beginning of 2008 was 46 to 60 cents a pound and a case of tomatoes went for $28.75 to $32.20. In November, the price of won bok ranged from 45 to 57 cents, while a case of tomatoes ran from $26 to $28.95.
Yamashita said there is a potential for state action to provide needed infrastructure, noting that capital improvements can be provided by borrowing rather than relying on diminishing accounts in the state General Fund.
"There are possibilities in CIP, but money is tight," he said. "A lot of farmers are close to exiting, and there's no one coming up to replace them. One of my concerns is once they get out, we don't have the next generation of farmers.
"The bottom line is they have to be viable if there are going to be farmers."
Edwin Tanji can be reached at citydesk@mauinews.com.
* This story includes a correction on the status of an Upcountry agricultural water line.
