MUFI HANNEMANN, INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE for governor, mentioned Ka`u Coffee in his response to a question during a recent candidate forum in Hilo. Moderator Sherry Bracken asked the candidates, “What steps would your administration take to increase profitable farming in Hawai`i?” Hannemann said, “Farmers often have difficulty with long-term leases. Farmers have difficulty getting loans from the banks. We have to go back with an understanding and appreciation of agriculture. If we want food security, if we want to make sure that we grow more of our products here and be able to put out in the world products from Hawai`i that are grown here … whether it’s Kona Coffee, now Ka`u Coffee, all those things is what I want to do. Hannemann also said his years with C. Brewer on Hawai`i Island gave him a deep appreciation for diversified ag. “Let’s begin with changing the status of the Department of Agriculture,” he said. “Currently they get only 0.7 percent of the budget of state government. How can they afford to go out and do what they need to do?” Hannemann concluded, “I want to bring back the agriculture industry and make them understand there’s someone in the executive office that understands the importance of agriculture.” Democratic Sen. David Ige said that before meeting with farmers across the state during his campaign, he thought agriculture was dead in Hawai`i. “I am more bullish about agriculture now than I ever have been because of my many interactions with farmers across the state. “We need to help and support all farmers, big and small. We need to turn the Department of Agriculture upside down so they understand that it’s also about supporting the small farmers.” “We need to make investments in the University of Hawai`i so we can have the extension agents that can be the conduit to the farmers across the state to teach them about new technologies and ways to be more profitable. We need to start with the farmers and ask them, ‘What would it take to double your production?’” Republican Duke Aiona replied, “Agriculture is a big part, I believe, in regards to what we call our naturally competitive industries. We know that we can have diversified agriculture in this state across the board. “I’m a proponent, and I’m a supporter of all forms of agriculture. “I’m prepared to do what it takes. I know that the Legislature has tried to incentivize farmers to get into agribusiness by making some modifications and amendments, increasing the funding for agricultural loans. “I know we need to do much more so that we can help our agriculture industry thrive.” Aiona said he wants to meet with farmers and communities to identify their needs regarding agriculture. See bigislandvideonews.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 02:15:46 +0000
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