Farms / The most significant ways in which the landscape of any food and drink scene changes over time can be traced back to where the food comes from in the first place. And it’s true that we’ve seen incredible changes in local agriculture over the years. Hard to believe, for example, that it’s been almost 15 years since Oahu Sugar Company officially closed its doors.

But as any islander can tell you, there’s more to Hawaii farming than pineapples and Kona coffee. The Weekly caught up with Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation President Dean Okimoto and asked him for five major signs that show Hawaii’s agriculture industry is growing in the right direction. Here’s what he had to say:

On passage of the Important Agricultural Lands bill in 2006. “This seems to be under-the-radar for the general public. It will eventually keep important Ag lands in agriculture in perpetuity. In fact, within the next two weeks, you’ll probably see 27,000 acres on Maui [turned over to agricultural use] by Alexander & Baldwin, who have already put in 3,800 acres in Kauai. Going forward, we can look forward to other companies stepping up…A&B said, “this makes sense.” Going forward, we need the other landowners, like Castle and Cooke, like Bishop Estate, to step in.”

On development of the Farm Bureau Farmers’ Markets [Kapiolani Community College, Kailua, Mililani and coming to the Neal S. Blaisdell Center on June 3]. “What that’s done is that we keep them local. There has to be some connection to local production. I think it’s gotten the community into it, and beyond that, we’ve been able to convince local people that, hey, you know we grow good stuff here in Hawaii. It’s helping the awareness of local produce.”

On buying local “I think it’s key that we’ve been moving toward placing a value on local products as a community. When you support regional production, to me, you build community. You really build manao, for your community and where you live. That’s really important going forward. People always point fingers first, “I’ll see you in court,” rather than talking it out first. Because there’s so little connectedness between many people nowadays. That’s something we lose when we go global. Local agriculture keeps people connected.”

On the rise of sustainability awareness. “For farmers, that means we need to start looking at local fuel production, maybe not just at biofuels, but alternatives as well. We have so many researchers who see promise in our potential here, and for ag producers to sustain themselves in the future, we can’t be spending all this money on [imported petrofuels]. A lot of our growers are looking at that, and I think ag can be a leader. Right now I’m looking at photovoltaic stuff. I’m in a lot of discussions with people about that. We’re also looking at some biofuels, like algae, which might have some potential down the road. And there again is a challenge, as well: those things have to be, pretty much, on ag land. So while we’re pursing alternative fuels, we’re also balancing fuel production with food production. It’s going to be a delicate balance, but we need all of these things for agriculture to grow.”

On the Farm Bureau moving the Farm Fair to Bishop Museum. “It maybe sounds a bit self-promotional, but what I feel that’s done is that it’s brought agriculture back in to the life of the city. The museum is a great partner, because they attract the young families, and those are the people we need to talk with about agriculture going forward. Food doesn’t grow in Safeway or Foodland, we grow it on farms. The fair has great potential to bring young people back to understanding that ag is really important in any community…The City is going to help, the fire derpartment is going to help, the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts are coming out to help us. It’s becoming a community thing.”

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