Column: ADC transition can advance economic success of agriculture

In late June, Gov. David Ige signed Senate Bill 2473 into law, which immediately transferred the state Agribusiness Development Corp. (ADC) from the state Department of Agriculture to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT).

The decision to switch departments was not without much discussion. A 2021 report by the state auditor and a special House committee looked into how ADC operates and how it could improve. This was ADC’s first audit and the process was a learning experience for the agency. It brought to light some shortcomings which ADC has been, and will continue, to work hard to address.

Last fall, the ADC board of directors signed long-term licenses with five new farming tenants to fill our last remaining 1,200 acres of vacant property in Central Oahu.

This was an important step to move closer to our benchmark of 100% occupancy of these agricultural lands. Some of our tenants have already begun to move into their respective parcels and are prepping for eventual crop production. Their presence on our lands have already helped reduce the amount of trespassers and lessen the strain on our security patrols.

In the past three years, ADC has spent a great deal of effort developing the water infrastructure on these lands. With many of these parcels previously not having access to a nearby water source, ADC completed the construction of two reservoirs holding 13 million gallons of water to service our tenants.

In many ways, local agriculture is fragmented right now. While there are clusters of farmers, produce distributors and packing/processing facilities, there needs to be better coordination across these sectors to enable them to be more successful.

ADC is proposing several initiatives to support the livelihood of our tenants and other area farms and promote efficiencies in storage, distribution, packaging and marketing.

ADC has begun the engineering and design of a proposed food hub facility adjacent to Whitmore Village in Wahiawa. It will provide a centralized storage, processing and distribution center for our tenants and farmers in the region. The intent is to revitalize agricultural operations in the area, while boosting and diversifying the economy and creating local jobs.

In addition, the University of Hawaii community colleges will complete the construction of the Wahiawa Value Added Product Development Center in early 2023. The planned Wahiawa facility will offer and inspire a work and learning environment capable of attracting college-level students, as well as entrepreneurs to pursue careers in the food sciences or start up their own businesses. The food hub would then provide leased space, cold and dry storage and processing facilities for these startups.

ADC is also working with the state Department of Education to provide land and infrastructure at the planned food hub for the construction of a centralized kitchen. This would give farmers the opportunity to deliver their produce directly to the food hub facility for sale to the DOE as part of its mandate to purchase locally grown food for public schools.

ADC is also partnering with the state Department of Health and the City and County of Honolulu to study a long-term proposal that would divert R-1 treated wastewater from the city’s Wahiawa Wastewater Treatment Plant for irrigational use on ADC’s nearby agricultural lands.

It’s an exciting time for the organization. While it once made sense for ADC to be part of the Department of Agriculture for our development and growth, our transition to DBEDT will allow us to tap into its expertise to further promote agricultural economic development for our tenants and economic diversification for Hawaii.

If the recent pandemic showed us anything, it was the need for resiliency. Agribusiness is a dynamic growth industry that offers tremendous potential for the economy and a sustainable future.

Fred Lau is chairperson of the State Agribusiness Development Corporation’s board of directors.