We are chefs, distributors and farmers. Whether it be eggs, vegetables, fruits, livestock or fish, we have long touted that we need more locally grown agricultural products. As a group, we tried to engage the community in understanding how important this is to our future. We have created marketing campaigns, farmers’ markets, food events, etc., for our local people and visitors to see firsthand our great agricultural products, as well as to understand the importance of sustaining our islands and supporting our local farmers, ranchers and fishermen.

The Dole lands are up for sale now and there is an opportunity to purchase those 8,000 acres of prime agricultural lands. Buying it would make the land immediately available for farmers to farm, to significantly increase our food production.

The purchase of these Dole lands is a must, not a maybe later. Later will never come again. If the state does not act today, it will be sold off to private landowners who may or may not use it for agriculture.

The state has purchased the Galbraith lands, and infrastructure is being planned for to service the agricultural community, such as food safety, processing and value added facilities. The Dole lands are neighboring, and can make use of those same resources to help improve the viability of agriculture even more. To give agriculture the best chance of thriving in Hawaii, the more contiguous land we can have in agriculture, with all the infrastructure close by, the more money we can save and the more viable the farmers can be. There would be more shared costs in processing and all the products would be close by, saving on fuel costs also.

We have this opportunity to grow even more products that have been traditionally imported, such as blueberries, strawberries, building our cacao and coffee market bigger. Even to look at doing more mangoes, or lychee.This is also where we need to do more added value things such as jams, jellies, ketchup, candies and other things with our seconds, so that it can make farmers more viable. We also believe that this may attract the younger generation in looking at agriculture and its by-products as an exciting, growing and entrepreneurial career.

If the state Legislature provides the funds, the Dole lands would be owned by the state so there would be no more pressure from development. We can then concentrate on making these lands productive for food crop production, for our people and for our children. Furthermore, by reducing food imports, we will also decrease invasive species being brought into Hawaii.

Our goal as chefs, farmers and food distributors is to sustain Hawaii’s people, including the military and our visitor industry.

We talk about how we can improve the self-sufficiency and sustainability of our islands every day. The question is always, how do we do this? The answer is, it starts with having the land.

Let’s walk the talk. We urge you to contact your legislators to strongly support the Senate proposal to purchase the Dole lands.