It’s a time many of us can remember.

When agriculture played a significant role in our economy and lifestyle and helped to build and strengthen friendships.

When you would visit your neighbor to share an overabundance of mangoes the season had produced, and in return, you would be given avocadoes he had just picked.

When agriculture helped create a true sense of community and reinforced the aloha spirit.

In order to move forward, we must return to "old Hawaii."

One person who claims to understand the importance of agriculture and this way of life isn’t even a farmer. Kioni Dudley wrote the commentary, "Ho‘opili farming initiative is a myth" (Nov. 14, Star-Advertiser, Island Voices), in which he describes D.R. Horton Schuler Division’s planned community in Kapolei as one based on falsehood and deceit, when in fact, it was created using local values and tradition.

This is the first time a local developer has integrated food production into a project from the early stages of planning. Unlike other communities that contain little, if any, agriculture on site, Ho‘opili will reflect the importance that food plays in health and that agriculture plays in West Oahu’s economy and history. I will ensure this by overseeing Ho‘opili’s urban agriculture program, which will provide the opportunity to farm more than 15 percent of its developable acreage.

That includes 159 acres of commercial farms and 84 acres of edible gardens where residents can enjoy the fruits of their labor and learn about agriculture in their own backyard by working with experienced farmers who will help and guide them.

It captures the best parts of old Hawaii, ultimately taking us back to how we used to live.

Eight acres will also be set aside for community gardens, where residents can farm small plots of land for themselves, or work with others to grow food to share.

Ho‘opili will lease lands to commercial operators who want to grow fruits and vegetables on small farms within the community.

Farming techniques will ensure food production is safe for residents living nearby.

There is also a site for a planned local farmers’ market which will also increase access to healthy food and community cohesion.

As head of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, I can tell you farmers need reliable water sources and adequate supply for their lands. We are looking for communities, such as Ho‘opili, that emphasize sustainability and lead with conservation measures, particularly by using non‐potable water for irrigation, and feature low‐water-use landscape design, as well as recycling, composting capabilities, and a solar farm.

Currently, there are more than 170,000 acres of fallow prime agriculture land available statewide and 30,000 acres on Oahu outside of the City and County of Honolulu’s urban growth boundary. We need to work together to ensure the future of farming within the other lands, such as active, contiguous lands in Kunia, Kahuku and Waialua.

Projects such as Ho‘opili do not take away from these numbers; they’re actually giving back to agriculture. It allows the general public to understand what farming is about and what it takes to incorporate it into a community.

It also encourages the next generation to get involved, by planning to offer a farming education internship program, in which young adults can learn about agriculture while working on one of the civic farms.

Local residents need to truly understand and appreciate the importance of agriculture, in order for us to preserve the farmland we now have. We need to promote consumption of locally produced food and increase awareness of the economic and social contributions that agriculture continues to make to Hawaii.