As a holdover from the sugar cane days, the majority of usable land on Kauai is zoned for agriculture. How many farmers do you know on Kauai making a living wage strictly from their agricultural operations? The cost of land and housing is so high, and the cost of shipping so low, that it is practically impossible for local farmers to compete with world markets. Without a second job or some other source of income, farming on Kauai is not feasible.
The biggest farm operations on Kauai are multinational seed companies doing research. They do not create food for the island. Most of this research is focused on developing genetically modified seeds and crops that have questionable value to the local environment and our communities. Is this the type of farming we want to attract with agricultural zoning?
If we are going to zone our lands for agriculture, lets make it financially viable to be a farmer on Kauai. Why not make it easy for farmers to permit certified kitchens, do agricultural tours and sell value added products at farmers markets? The combination of education, low interest loans and government permitting support, could jump start the local food industry. We could provide the incentive of additional dwelling units to farmers with successful agricultural operations.
What if Kauai became known as the best place in the world for organic farms? From a sustainability perspective, leading edge local organic agriculture makes perfect sense. It uses new technologies to grow food, as well as value added food products to provide jobs, food security, and improve the health of our communities.
Kauai could become known as a leader in the development of the tools needed to create profitable small to medium scale food production operations. Most all communities globally need this expertise. The low cost of shipping has made us dependent on food companies and agricultural operations that operate with the intention of maximizing their profits, not doing what is best for our personal health or the health of our communities.
We have become addicted to the low cost of food, and the sugar and fat based ingredients that increase obesity and disease. Building an industry around the production of high quality, local, organic food products, would create self-reliant, local economies. Kauai would be a model for the rest of the world.
We should stop using agricultural zoning as a way to prevent farmers from offering services that generate additional income, and start using agricultural zoning to promote new programs that represent the future of agriculture. With some smart changes to the zoning laws we will be positioned to create a vibrant local agricultural industry, a more resilient economy and substantially increase food quality and security. We have the natural, human and financial resources available on Kauai to make it a model the rest of the world will want to emulate.
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