Column: Combat isles’ food vulnerability by investing in agriculture

The abundance of foods in grocery stores often drives the perception of food security. In some ways, that is true, but for many islands, there is a deep reliance on imports. Hawaii contains some of these islands. Food system analyst Ken Meter estimated that more than 90% of food is imported. At face value, this statistic can come off as relatively unalarming. In the increasingly interconnected world, this is something that is expected, or at least unsurprising. What can be wrong with sourcing foods from around the world? The issue comes down to food vulnerability, which the City and County of Honolulu can do better to address and protect its residents.

The islands of Hawaii are extremely isolated from the rest of the world; The continental United States is 2,506 miles away. As climate change worsens, the intensity of storms is expected. If any of these severe natural disasters were to hit and destroy ports and airways, food security is at risk. It can take 19 days or longer for normal operations to resume.

The City and County of Honolulu has offered guidance for residents on how to prepare for natural disasters. While this information is great to have on hand, the question can be raised of how many residents are actually prepared. Prepping for disasters takes disposable income that people may not have. Especially in times of rising food prices, many are attempting to simply get by. On top of that, crises often cause people to scramble for necessities and hoard more than they need — which causes others to be unable to get them.

Honolulu has made promises to fix this issue. In 2022, food security and sustainability were included in the Annual Sustainability Report. These documents indicated that an increase of $5.2 million from 2019 to 2022 was going to local food hubs. It was mentioned that focus was going toward increasing farmer pay as well. Currently, it is estimated that the majority of farms across Hawaii accumulate less than $50,000 annually. While this is considerable income, it is not enough for farmers to live off of or entice other residents to become farmers.

Especially on Oahu, living costs are skyrocketing. The increase in farmer pay has also been minimal, as the current rate is only $18.82 an hour, which annually is almost $38,000. The income in the agriculture industry is simply not enough for residents to survive.

The answer to food vulnerability is investing in agriculture. A possible way to generate extra funding is to impose a price hike on local agriculture for tourists. While some can worry that this increase in pricing can scare away some, a study found otherwise. In this study of 454, 78% were willing to pay more for local foods. The kamaaina discount would allow these products to remain at relatively affordable prices for residents. This extra money can be used to create more-livable wages for farmers and increase the scale of farming on the island of Oahu.

Certainly, there are tradeoffs in investing in agriculture on the islands, but the reliance on imported foods threatens residents’ safety. An unwillingness to localize food sources will inevitably cost lives in a severe natural disaster.

Kayla Le, an Arizona State University student majoring in public service/public policy with a concentration in sustainability, became interested in this issue while researching sustainability challenges.