REPORT TITLE:
Agriculture; Organic Farming


DESCRIPTION:
Appropriates funds for the construction of a multi-commodity,
multi-technology post harvest facility that can be used by
certified organic producers to promote Hawaii's organic industry.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.947        
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT
RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the economic base for
 
 2 the island of Hawaii has traditionally been agriculture.  With
 
 3 the disappearance of sugar as a major economic force and primary
 
 4 agricultural commodity, production has shifted to small-scale and
 
 5 medium-scale diversified agricultural enterprises.  Expanding
 
 6 production in specific crops such as papaya, avocado, coffee, and
 
 7 exotic tropical fruits; developing processing facilities for
 
 8 specialty products; providing informational market networks to
 
 9 encourage import substitution; and constructing producer-operated
 
10 post harvest treatment facilities to allow development of
 
11 sustainable export markets will collectively provide the economic
 
12 stimulus needed for the Big Island.  And with consumer demand
 
13 increasing for more naturally produced foods, the need to
 
14 encourage sustainable production methods is paramount to
 
15 developing successful market strategies.
 
16      Currently, many fruit producers on the Big Island do not
 
17 have access to post-harvest facilities that allow them to pass
 
18 the United States Department of Agriculture quarantine for
 
19 export, while allowing them to maintain control of the marketing
 
20 of their fruit.  A publicly funded post harvest treatment
 

 
Page 2                                                     
                                     H.B. NO.947        
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 facility was constructed on Kauai specifically to treat papayas
 
 2 and was funded through the Department of Business, Economic
 
 3 Development and Tourism, the United States Department of
 
 4 Commerce, and the University of Hawaii.  This prototype facility
 
 5 provides heat treatments only and was specifically constructed
 
 6 for treating Kauai-grown papayas.  Additionally, no post harvest
 
 7 or fruit disinfestation facility already constructed or under
 
 8 development anywhere in the State provides services for farmers
 
 9 marketing certified organic produce.  The certified organic
 
10 industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of United States
 
11 agriculture with a growth rate of twenty per cent or greater for
 
12 each year since 1990.  At the national level, the value of the
 
13 organic foods industry in terms of gross sales reached
 
14 $3,500,000,000 in 1996.  The growth of Hawaii's organic industry
 
15 parallels the national growth, and in 1996 there was an estimated
 
16 $7,000,000 in organic food sales contributing to the State's
 
17 gross domestic product.
 
18      To represent the State's expanding base of organic producers
 
19 and to administer a private sector farmer-based organic
 
20 certification program, the Hawaii Organic Farmers Association was
 
21 formed in 1993.  The organization is a domestic non-profit
 
22 organization with the State and is now a recognized agricultural
 
23 commodity group.  The Big Island now hosts more than twenty
 

 
Page 3                                                     
                                     H.B. NO.947        
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 certified farms raising a wide range of fruits, vegetables,
 
 2 herbs, and medicinal plants.  The Hawaii Organic Farmers
 
 3 Association now administers organic certification under the
 
 4 proposed national guidelines developed by the National Organic
 
 5 Standards Board as mandated in the 1990 Farm Bill's Organic Farm
 
 6 Production Act.  Approximately one-half of the certified organic
 
 7 producers in Hawaii are certified under the Hawaii Organic
 
 8 Farmers Association and the number of certified organic farms is
 
 9 expected to increase dramatically once the National Organic
 
10 Standards Board recommended standards are enacted.  The Board
 
11 proposed standards are currently in the final stages of public
 
12 review and approval by the United States Department of
 
13 Agriculture, and, as specified in those proposed standards,
 
14 products that are certified organic can not be treated with gamma
 
15 irradiation as a post harvest practice.
 
16      The Hawaii Organic Farmers Association's mission extends
 
17 beyond just administering an organic certification program.  The
 
18 organization's research and educational efforts are focused on
 
19 the introduction of more sustainable cultivation practices for
 
20 all of Hawaii's agriculture.  At this time, certified organic
 
21 farms are producing virtually all of the food crops capable of
 
22 being grown in Hawaii and are marketing organic papaya, coffee,
 
23 avocado, pineapple, specialty fruits, ginger, bananas, and a
 

 
Page 4                                                     
                                     H.B. NO.947        
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 variety of salad greens and vegetables.  The State's expanding
 
 2 production of pharmaceutical plants, such as kava and neem, will
 
 3 also require expansion of the sustainable agricultural practices,
 
 4 as the markets for those products will demand a high quality
 
 5 product grown under the most natural conditions possible.
 
 6      The purpose of this Act is therefore to encourage the
 
 7 development of more sustainable agricultural practices, while at
 
 8 the same time providing a stimulus for economic growth on the Big
 
 9 Island, by providing funds for the construction of a multi-
 
10 purpose post harvest treatment facility.  The proposed facility
 
11 will be built in East Hawaii, close to the Hilo airport, and will
 
12 provide treatment chambers for the following technologies:  hot
 
13 forced air, vapor heat, heat shock/cold chill, and hot water
 
14 immersion.  These treatments have been approved by the United
 
15 States Department of Agriculture for specific fruits and, if
 
16 proper construction designs, hardware, materials, and operating
 
17 procedures are followed, can also be approved under the National
 
18 Organic Standards Board's proposed national organic standards.
 
19 This project would be implemented under the supervision of the
 
20 United States Department of Agriculture and the Hawaii Organic
 
21 Farmers Association certification committee, with technical
 
22 assistance from the United States Department of
 
23 Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service and University of
 

 
Page 5                                                     
                                     H.B. NO.947        
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 Hawaii at Manoa/College of Tropical Agriculture and Human
 
 2 Resources.  If possible, the project should be designed in
 
 3 conjunction with the construction of the freight consolidation
 
 4 center proposed for the Hilo airport by the state department of
 
 5 transportation.
 
 6      SECTION 2.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
 7 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $          , or so
 
 8 much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000, for
 
 9 the construction of a multi-commodity, multi-technology post
 
10 harvest facility that can be used by certified organic producers
 
11 to promote Hawaii's organic industry.
 
12      SECTION 3.  The sum appropriated shall be expended by the
 
13 department of agriculture for the purposes of this Act.
 
14      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1999.
 
15 
 
16                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________