WASDA conference focuses on ‘Smart’ agriculture By Jessica Else The Garden Island
KOLOA — Vincent Kimura says a lack of information in Hawaii is the main roadblock to achieving food sustainability.
Thus, the theme for his talk this morning is, “We just need data.”
“One of the biggest challenges this state is facing is that we don’t have enough data,” Kimura said Tuesday.
Kola Landing Resort has been playing host to the members of the Western Association of State Departments of Agriculture since Sunday.
The annual WASDA conference unites ag industry professionals from the 13 Western states as well as Guam and American Samoa. The conference continues through Friday.
The Hawaii-born Kimura is the lead founder and CEO of Smart Yields. He works through his company to connect small and medium-sized farmers with ag technologies that can help boost yields and monitor trends.
The United States Department of Agriculture census shows Hawaii has 7,000 farms, which Kimura says is inaccurate — not only because there are more small farms in the islands, but also because some of those “farms” are ag parcels of land.
“We don’t have a list of all the farms. When the governor wants to double food production, I say, ‘what’s the plan?’ You need a baseline of metrics to show what you’ve accomplished,” Kimura said.
So, the proposal is to get all of the farmers in Hawaii on a list and thus provide a clear picture of ag in the state.
Then, Kimura suggests focusing on the value chain and contract growing — understanding what kinds of products can be made to prolong the shelf life of the harvest and having a buyer before the crop is planted.
An effort has already been started with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and landowers like Uluopono Initiative to catalogue the number of farms and types of crops being grown in Hawaii, and Kimura says the picture being painted with the data isn’t great when it comes to profits.
That’s a challenge when it comes to the initiative to double local food production.
“Most of the data that’s been reported has shown the majority of farmers make less than $10,000 in grow sales per year,” Kimura said. “How are these farmers making ends meet? The simple fact is that they’re not.”
But, without a master list of farming activities on Kauai and the rest of the islands, it’s difficult to pinpoint how to strengthen the industry.
“Let’s start with the basic stuff — how much of the food that you’re growing on your land do you consume? Let’s see how much they’re (farms) able to sustain families,” Kimura said.
Other challenges that could be addressed with a better pool of data include distribution and what needs to be done to double production.
“How can we bring technology and make it interesting and appealing to both young and old?” he said. “I think Kauai could lead the charge, or Maui or Big Island or Oahu, but someone’s got to step up and do this.”
•••
Jessica Else, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0452 or at jelse@thegardenisland.com
