HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hundreds got a farm-to-Capitol experience during Agriculture Day at the Hawaii State Capitol Thursday.
Samples of meat and produce from across the state were served with an important message: support Hawaii’s farmers and ranchers.
Almost everything we eat is imported, making it hard for local farmers to keep prices competitive. Agriculture advocates say they’re working to lower production costs so eventually everything on your plate can be local and sustainable.
“Hawaii is importing way too much product and then by supporting local beef, we’re supporting our neighbors,” said Chef Keaka Lee, who partners with local farmers to source ingredients for his Kahala restaurant Kapa Hale.
The high cost of locally grown food often deters price-conscious consumers, but advocates are working to change that through education and policies.
“If you just buy local, if everyone just replaces one thing in your shopping cart, that is take out the mainland, put something local, it’ll make a difference to all the farmers and ranchers of Hawaii,” said Hawaii Board of Agriculture chair Sharon Hurd.
“If you want to eat good, healthy food, you got to expect to spend 10-20 cents more per pound. But there is the Da Bux program that gives you a 50% subsidy on locally grown fruits and vegetables. We are trying to expand that beyond the SNAP recipients,” she added.
This year, there’s new anxiety about cuts to federal subsidies and USDA programs on top of ongoing challenges.
“Water issues. Land issues. labor issues, energy issues, all the different things that our farmers and ranchers need, research, invasive species,” said Brian Miyamoto, executive director of the Hawaii Farm Bureau, a nonprofit that advocates for the ag community.
“The supply chain suffers greatly with the invasive species, and one ag crime can just wipe you out. So those are the two ways that we’re trying to help the supply chain keep costs down,” Hurd said.
“We need to be able to lower the cost, be it through transportation reduction, be some assistance from tax credits, from whatever it may be, we have to lower the cost that it takes for a farmer to produce their product in order for it to be lower for our Hawaii residents,” Miyamoto said.
“Transportation cost is a significant bottleneck hurdle for farmers,” said J.B. Martin, Pacific Islands director of the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
He says the USDA will do all it can to support Hawaii’s farming community, in spite of uncertainty under the Trump administration’s federal spending cuts.
“Despite how you view the federal government, the federal government is very important throughout day-to-day and so we want to expand on that and educate people on that importance for agriculture and conservation,” Martin said.
“It has to be a group effort,” said celebrity chef Roy Yamaguchi, executive director of the Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Kapiolani Community College. “It has to be a situation where, because we as chefs, want to make sure that the farming industry continues to grow and grow because we need more products into our kitchen so that we can in turn make something great for our guests.”
Researchers say streamlining a cumbersome permitting process can help grow the economy and jobs, especially in aquaculture.
“If we want sovereignty or food sustainability, whatever you want to call it, we’ve got to grow our own stuff and our state government and our federal government need to support us,” said Maria Haws, aquaculture professor at UH Hilo.
Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
