State and federal agencies supporting agriculture partnered with vegetable seed developer Monsanto on Wednesday to encourage small Hawaii farmers to produce more local produce.
The event, billed as a “vegucation” workshop for farmers, was a first-time endeavor that included presentations about farm loans, new vegetable varieties, customer demand, equipment and more.
Farmers also heard from local chefs and food distribution firm Armstrong Produce at the workshop held at Monsanto’s seed research and production farm in Kunia.
About 80 farmers were among attendees, according to event organizers.
Scott Enright, director of the state Department of Agriculture, said one of the missions of the agency is to help small farmers grow. “We’re there, and we want to be there for you,” he said. “We want to be there to support the growth of agriculture.”
Enright said the department aims to expand a fund that assists farmers with loans by about one-third, roughly from $23 million to $31 million, over the next two years to assist farmers who can’t get loans from traditional lenders.
The event was tailored to small Hawaii farmers who farm less than 50 acres and represent 88 percent of all farmers in the state, but account for only 10 percent of local food production, according to Jari Sugano, an extension agent with the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.
Vegetable and melon production in Hawaii was a $45.4 million industry last year, according to a recent estimate by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
One particular focus of the initiative to help small farmers was on immigrant farmers who have been a big piece of small diversified farm growth in Hawaii over the past 20 to 30 years as sugar cane and pineapple plantations left fields fallow, according to Jason Shitanishi, executive director of the USDA’s Farm Service Agency on Oahu.
Shitanishi described a range of loans, disaster assistance and other programs available including one he called “free money” that reimburses farmers for a portion of the cost to transport farm equipment, fertilizer, feed, plants and seeds.
Shitanishi advised farmers to network with industry supporters who can help them, and to grow what other farmers aren’t growing.
One sobering issue discussed was federal food safety certification requirements. Enright said the good news is that 90 to 95 percent of Hawaii farms will be exempt because they gross less than $500,000 a year. But the bad news, he said, is that food wholesalers, retailers and restaurants will be under pressure to have all farm suppliers comply on some level within the next three to five years.
Enright said he wouldn’t be surprised if Hawaii loses 30 percent of its farms because they can’t comply with food safety certification.
“Food safety is a game-changer,” he said, adding that the state Department of Agriculture has received money to create a food safety branch with its own manager to be hired in December as part of an effort to help farms comply. The Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation also has $750,000 from the state to address the issue.
Chris Robb, a farmer growing lettuce, broccoli, beets, fennel and sweet onions on Hawaii island, knows how challenging the food safety rules can be since he obtained certification in 2010. At one point, the rules prohibited his workers from taking bottled water into the field.
“It’s frustrating because every time you’d turn around they’re changing the regulations,” he recalled, adding that the rules are now nearly finalized.
Leticia Uyehara, marketing director for Armstrong Produce, said her firm can help farms work toward certification, and that there will probably come a day when Armstrong won’t be able to buy from them if they don’t certify.
“More and more that’s going to become an issue,” she said. “Because what happens is we carry, then, the liability for farms that are not either certified or are not practicing good sanitation practices both in their field and in their packing houses.”
OTHER aspects of the workshop let farmers know how to get involved with Hawaii Farm Bureau farmers markets or community-supported agriculture groups through which customers sign up to receive baskets of produce regularly.
Monsanto representatives explained how the company sells 2,000 varieties of seeds, nearly all of which are free of genetic manipulation. The company, which largely develops corn seed varieties in Hawaii, showed some samples of vegetables that it has interested local farmers in growing, including tomatoes with names such as Sanibel and DRD 8539.
One particular vegetable that excites Jeff Sais, a sales representative for Monsanto’s Seminis brand: bell peppers that are sweet and about half the size of typical varieties. He said a few farmers are test-growing the “baby bells” that could soon appear on market shelves.
Other displays showcased tractors, snail and slug bait, fertilizers, irrigation equipment and more.
Chefs who participated were Alan Wong of Alan Wong’s restaurant, Colin Hazama of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Ronnie Nasuti of Tiki’s Grill &Bar and the operator of Catering from Soup to Nuts Inc. on Maui, Ralph Giles. The chefs answered questions and let farmers know that one of their desires is to have more baby leeks, onions, cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, beets and other miniature-size veggies.
Sarun Vorn took in the workshop and said it was useful. An immigrant from Cambodia who moved to Hawaii five years ago, Vorn operates a vending business in Honolulu but is contemplating starting a farm and could one day be part of the growth in local vegetable production sought by so many.
