Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 12, 1 December 2012 — Governor boosts Hawaiʻi Isle farming program [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Governor boosts Hawaiʻi Isle farming program

By Karin Stanton Gov. Neil Abercrombie is hailing a Hawai'i Island farming pilot program as an investment in residents and in the state. "The Big Island is going to be the generator of prosperity for

this part ot the zlst century, he said. "There is not a doubt in my mind. This is a move toward self-sufficiency. It's keeping our dollars in Hawai'i." Abercrombie joined about 30 interested farmers and Veteran to Farmer/Farming for the Working Class program leaders Nov. 2 for a tour of a Hawai'i Island farm and to discuss the launeh of the Waimea Nui Regional Community Development Initiative. The governor praised the efforts of retired poliee officer Mike Hodson, whose family established Wow Farm in Waimea.

Hodson said he started farming as a stress-relieving hobby and now grows 10 varieties of tomato in 45 2,000-square-foot greenhouses. The governor also viewed the 161-acre plot of land the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands community intends to convert into several dozen community agricultural lots. Hodson also spearheaded creation of the program, whieh already has 14 DHHL lessees in Waimea signed on to become working farmers. The program aims to teach the lessees how to build a greenhouse that they ean care for while still working another full-time job and how to grow produce ready for market, Hodson said. "We need to farm farmers," Hodson said. "Waimea used to lead the state in agriculture. It's about time Waimea led the state again. And this is a model that ean be replicated across the state." Hodson said the program will have education, health and community benefits. "We're moving our people forward. We need to start looking to be self-sufficient," he said. "We need to stop taking the mindset that someone will do it for us. And it starts right here." The Veteran to Farmer/Farming for the Working Class program, developed jointly by the Waimea Hawaiian Homesteaders Association, Rivertop

Solutions, University of Hawai'i-Hilo and state and county agencies, will combine classroom and on-farm education to create operating farms. The first class began in June and UH-Hilo has begun certification

of the curriculum, whieh will allow

military veterans to use their GI Bill benefits in future classes.

Hodson said up to 20 percent of lessees are U.S. military veterans, including many who need assistance getting a farm venture established. "Hawaiians are real warriors," Hodson said. "We did fight for America. There are a lot of veterans on homestead land, so it's not hard to find veterans who need help getting moving and getting help along the way. Farming is not an easy task." The farmers will be supported by modern, renewable-energy-powered agriculture facilities that allow them to market their produce locally and to larger buyers. "Farmers have the opportunity to export via the Internet," Abercrombie said, noting that he also wants to bolster loeal business avenues. He said he supports amending state procurement laws to allow loeal food to be served in hospitals, jails, schools and other public facilities. "What's the major export for Hawai'i?" Abercrombie mulled at the close of the tour. "Dollars.

Dollars for oil, dollars for food, dollars for prisoners. That money should stay in Hawai'i." Abercrombie said: "This is part of what I envisioned. This is the long game we are playing, a long-term commitment. We're part-

ners. It's not a top-down thing. Our job is to be a bridge, a catalyst." He added that while he sees his role is "to cheerlead, to articulate it to the greater public," he still needs to lead the conversation. "I'm up to here with having to listen to people talk when they don't have anything to say when it comes to agriculture. I don't want to hear one more person . . . tell me how they want to preserve ag land. I don't want to preserve ag land. I want to use ag land to grow things and to see to it that we have a thriving agricultural industry," he said. "So, if you got a plan to actually make agriculture work in Hawai'i, I'm all ears. But if you want to sit there and talk about making ag land into a museumpiece, go see Bishop Museumand maybe they got a project for you." The governor said this is a prime time to explore innovative agricultural projects. "The state is in good fiscal shape now," he said. "You either go or you don't. You either have legislators

that are bold or you don't." Following the farm tour, Abercrombie was treated to luneh at Kanu o ka 'Āina New Century Public Charter School, where students also showed off their garden plot. Among the luneh guests was OHA Trustee Bob Lindsey, who said he was impressed by the farm project and by the governor's support. "It's very electrifying to talk about our preferred future and see what's happening," he said. "It plays into what we want - to integrate the economy, health, culture and education. It takes people and relationships to make good things happen and this exemplifies that." Support and funding for this initiative has eome froma range of sponsors that include the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Hawai'i County, DHHL and First Nations Development Institute. ■

Karin Stanton, aformer reporter/editor at West Hawai'i Today, worksfor the Associated Press and Hawai'i 24/7.

www.oha.org/kwo | kwo@OHA.org NATIVE HAWAIIAN » NEWS | FEATURES | EVENTS

Top, Kanu o ka 'Āina New Century Public Charler School students dug into their campus garden patch. Right, one of 45 tomato greenhouses at Wow Farm in Waimea,- Photos: Kaiin Stanton

Farmer Mike Hodson, left, and Gov. Neil Abercrombie discussed the Veteran to Farmer/Farming for the Working Class program.