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The Need for Leadership:
Challenges of Agriculture in Hawai`i Today
Agriculture, like many other things, is changing in Hawai‘i as it is
across the globe. To reach or get close to our state’s sustainability goals,
it is as important to look to the past as it is to the future.
Long before sugar and pineapple and long before Westerners arrived, the
early Hawaiians practiced techniques in agriculture and aquaculture refined
over centuries that sustained perhaps a million people – with nothing
imported. That concept seems almost unbelievable today, where approximately
85% of our food is imported from more than 2,000 miles for a resident
population of about the same size.
 How did they do it? In the 21st century, we are beginning to understand
the depth and breadth of the food systems that were closely tied to the
societal structure of early Hawai‘i. The dominant crops of kalo (taro) and
‘uala (sweet potato)
covered the landscape
and highly productive fishponds formed a
chain along the islands’ coastlines. The general populace, known as
maka‘āinana (lit., people that attend the land), toiled and paid their
“taxes” in the form of crops they cultivated to the konohiki (head person of
the ahupua‘a or land division) and the ali‘i (ruling chiefs).
 With the arrival of new cultures and economic systems, Hawaiian
agriculture changed significantly. Sugar gained a strong foothold in the
1840s and pineapple followed in the early 1900s. Commercial production of
both crops required imported labor from faraway countries such as China,
Japan, Korea, and the Philippines, forever changing the cultural tapestry of
Hawai‘i. In the 21st century, Hawaiian agriculture has changed yet again,
witnessing the closure of most sugar and pineapple operations and the
emergence of more diversified agriculture.
It probably has never been easy to grow food with competing needs for
land, water, and labor. Numerous challenges face Hawai‘i’s agricultural
producers as well as average citizens. We ponder questions such as:
- How can we become food and energy secure without an
overdependence on outside sources?
- How do we balance the need for agricultural lands for farmers
and ranchers to grow food and biofuels with land for housing and tourism?
- How much emphasis should be placed on food exports in our
economy?
- How does agriculture affect our watersheds and native species
– of which many are significant to our host culture?
- Who owns irrigation systems? Who gets to use water and how
much?
- Where does the runoff go and how does it affect coastal
environments?
- How do we diversify our economy AND protect our land, water,
crops and ecosystems?
Well-trained and effective leaders are essential for the success of any
endeavor, in particular solving complex problems such as those faced in
agriculture and natural resources management. Many in our community display
the capacity for leadership but need refinement and training to better
utilize their skills. Independent farmers and rural entrepreneurs, by nature
of their individualism, face challenges in coordinating efforts to solve
their common problems.
For agriculture to become sustainable, it needs more cohesion and a
stronger voice. And more than ever, Hawai‘i needs skilled, active, proactive
and visionary leaders to bring us together to address key issues that affect
all of our communities.
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