Testimony Presented Before the United States Senate — Field Hearing at Haleolelo Lumi Pahiahia, August 18, 2023, Anna Wieczorek

Summary

Written testimony presented before the United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship at a field hearing on August 18, 2023, by the Interim Dean of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. The testimony, titled as relating to promoting a resilient economy for Hawai'i farm businesses, supports improving and expanding federal programs for small agricultural businesses. It summarizes CTAHR work on biosecurity and crop pests, food safety training, specialty crops, workforce development through GoFarm Hawaiʻi and the 4-H program, natural resource management and family and consumer sciences. Figures cited include a $132 million economic benefit to the Hawai'i coffee industry and 556 farmers trained in the FSMA-Produce Safety Rule since 2017.

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                            Testimony Presented Before the

      United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
                      Field Hearing at Haleolelo Lumi Pahiahia
                                  August 18, 2023

                                           By

                             Anna Wieczorek, Interim Dean
                 College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
                             University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

     RELATING TO PROMOTING A RESILIENT ECONOMY FOR HAWAI‘I FARM
                            BUSINESSES

Chairman Cardin, Senator Hirono, and members of the Committee :

Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony in support of ways to improve and
expand federal programs that support Hawai‘i small businesses in the agriculture
sector.

As the founding College of the University of Hawai‘i in 1907, the College of Tropical
Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) is central to the land-grant mission of the
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UH Mānoa). CTAHR provides exceptional
transdisciplinary education, research, and extension in tropical agriculture, natural
resources, and human well-being to local and global communities. CTAHR is committed
to an educated community, a healthy population, and a sustainable food system and
environment that strengthens the well-being and economic development of the people
of Hawai‘i and beyond. The college is an integral part of UH Mānoa’s Carnegie “RU/VH”
designation and distinguishes itself in areas of resilient and thriving community health,
vibrant tropical and Pacific island agriculture and food security, ecosystem health, and
workforce and economic development. CTAHR’s uniqueness also comes from the fact
that we ae the only state in the union located in the tropics.

CTAHR initiated a strategic positioning effort in the middle of a pandemic (College of
Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Strategic
Positioning and Visioning 2022-2027). Ten listening sessions were led by an external
facilitator both on campus and across the state and resulted in the collection of 5,226
data points (2,395 faculty; 2049 public; and 782 staff). The result was a strategic
document that outlined four main initiatives and enhancing economic development for
an adaptable and resilient community and well-trained workforce and Economic
Development was one of the main initiatives.
US Senate Field Hearing
August 18, 2023


Small agricultural operations need access to free resources for education and training to
strengthen the well-being and economic development of the people of Hawai‘i. Hawai‘i
needs to be proactive in making locally produced food widely available to our population
and vibrant tropical agricultural value-added products to global communities. Hawai‘i is
especially vulnerable to natural and human disasters that may have a negative impact
on our own food security and economy.

CTAHR requests resources for small agricultural businesses to strengthen the
midstream of its agricultural supply chain and five areas of focus.

Examples of CTAHR impacts and ongoing contributions are summarized below.

Biosecurity in food-crop pests and diseases,

Insect pests can cause 20-50%, with a further 10-20% yield loss from plant diseases in
the Hawai‘i vegetable industry. Our entomology and plant pathology programs develop
methods for reducing these losses that can exceed $40 million per year. Entomologists
in the Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences (PEPS) had been
working on designing more effective pest control measures to cope with pesticide
resistant diamondback moth population on brassica leafy greens ($3.5 mil farm gate
value now suffering 20-100% yield loss). PEPS hosts the Western Plant Diagnostic
Network that diagnoses under-studied pathogens of tropical crops, critical for the state
interest to promote small business of specialty or culturally significant crops. PEPS also
has a research team that works on protecting the Hawai‘i cattle ($48 million in 2021)
from a new invasive pest, two-lined spittlebug, through developing management
practices. The integrated pest management developed by PEPS faculty in collaboration
with other organizations has resulted in a $132 million economic benefit to the Hawai‘i
coffee industry. Similar benefits are expected with new efforts to manage coffee and
macadamia but pests. PEPS also has a Turf and Landscape Pest Management team
that serves the $515 mil landscape industries in the state. We also host the state IR-4
program to gain emergency registration of pesticides for minor crops such as fungicides
to control coffee leaf rust which poses a major threat to Hawai‘i’s coffee industry. On the
other extreme, tourism represents a quarter of Hawai‘i's economy, yielded nearly $17.8
billion in visitor spending, and $2 billion in tax revenue (2019). Imagine a tourism
industry without coconut trees due to the threat from coconut rhinoceros beetles (CRB).
PEPS faculty, in collaboration with HNFAS faculty, manage the largest agrosecurity
response effort in Hawai‘i’s history, targeting the CRB by monitoring and immediately
sanitizing CRB breeding sites, helping the state effectively inspect outgoing cargo,
developing diverse management tools.

Food safety training




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August 18, 2023


Many farmers are challenged in complying with certain regulations such as food safety.
Since 2017, the CTAHR Farm Food Safety program has trained 556 farmers and
agricultural professionals statewide in the mandatory FSMA-Produce Safety Rule,
aiding farmers in taking a step towards food safety compliance. They are also currently
developing Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) audit training to assist farmers in
successfully acquiring third party food safety audits which are being more commonly
required by certain buyers. GAP certification for farmers provides opportunities for
growth in revenue and product diversification such as value-add products that generate
a higher price point and export markets.

Culturally important staple foods and specialty crops such as taro, ulu, floriculture

The CTAHR Indigenous Cropping Systems Laboratory has become a world leader in
breadfruit agronomic research, strongly supporting the emergence of an entirely new
industry here in Hawai'i by providing new knowledge, services, and technical assistance
that support the entire value chain - from production, aggregation, processing,
marketing, and consumption. This program has also played a supporting role in the
development of the Food Hub Hui, a consortium of local food hubs that are impacting
the local food economies through the aggregation of local products for local markets,
allowing for the growth and development of local agricultural industries while providing a
significantly higher share of the food dollar back to farmers compared to traditional food
distribution companies.

The Sustainable and Organic Agriculture Program (SOAP) is a CTAHR-led multi-
agency, trans-disciplinary collaboration that for the last 15 years has been committed to
increasing awareness and adoption of sustainable and organic agriculture practices
across the State of Hawai‘i. Educational programs are estimated to reach over 25,000
agricultural professionals and the public annually. Through statewide collaborations, we
have worked to increase adoption and acreage of Hawai‘i’s organic fruit and vegetable
operations. The most recent USDA statistics indicate these sectors in Hawai‘i are
currently valued over $15 million dollars compared to $7.6 million in 2008. SOAP’s
impact extends beyond organic growers and includes all Hawai‘i producers, including
strong collaboration with conventional operations and the seed industry. For example,
SOAP efforts to support turmeric growers with new varieties has directly contributed to
turmeric becoming Hawai‘i’s second highest valued specialty crop, second only to
banana with a market value of over $1.2 million in 2018. SOAP also collaborates closely
with the UH office of Public Health, the John A Burns School of Medicine and local non-
profits to deliver food security programs to Native Hawaiians and others in our
community, using CTAHR Agricultural Experiment Stations as “Centers of Learning”.
Recent results have shown these programs to positively impact determinants of health,
suggesting that these community-based food programs are effective interventions to
reduce diet related diseases estimated to cost Hawai‘i over $1.5 billion annually.


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August 18, 2023


The CTAHR floriculture program has an annual economic impact of $754,505, including
releases of new crop varieties.

Invasive species pose a risk to native and traditional cropping systems. For example, a
new invasive insect pest, the ramie moth, attacks and causes severe damage on
mamaki, a native tea crop. Our entomology program has ongoing work that contributes
to reducing damage form this insect, not only in cultivated mamaki, but also wild
mamaki and its relatives, several which are threatened species.

In the field of aquaponics, CTAHR’s Department of Molecular Biosciences and
Bioengineering (MBBE) is developing application of nanobubble technology aims to
improve crop and fish yield while simultaneously treating aquaculture effluent. This work
aligns with Hawai‘i’s goals for sustainable agriculture, reducing reliance on imported
fertilizers, and enhancing food security. Our findings have demonstrated the potential to
increase crop yield by 20-30%, strengthening the state's farming communities.

Work force development

The newly developed “Hawai‘i-One-Ag 2023: Focusing on the Student Experience in
Agricultural Education at the University of Hawai‘i” promotes and redefines agriculture
while focusing on improving the student experience at community colleges and
facilitating their transferring process to a 4-year program. This grant also provides
Native Hawaiian students access to educational opportunities at community colleges
and universities within the UH System in agriculture-related degrees and to inform
prospective students how agriculture offers valuable and rewarding career
opportunities.

GoFarm Hawaiʻi (GFH) is an extramurally funded UH CTAHR extension program whose
mission is to enhance Hawai‘i’s food security and economy by increasing the number of
viable, sustainable commercial farmers and its supporting workforce. Launched in 2003
to provide business technical assistance for local producers, the program added
workforce development training in 2013 and has since graduated over 530 individuals
from its farmer training program statewide. Many graduates of the program start
businesses and are often sought after to fill management roles at agricultural
businesses statewide. Over the last three years, 59% of graduates reported starting a
farm business and 20% reported working for others in the industry. Forty-seven
graduates participated in the AgIncubator phase of the program, starting businesses
directly on program-managed land. These new producers reported $930k worth of
revenues during the period. According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, 78% of
Hawai‘i’s farms earn less than $25k per year. With the support of this CTAHR program,
AgIncubator program participants have averaged $15,000 in Year 1 and $39,000 in
Year 2 revenues.



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UH Mānoa is proud to be the administrator of the Hawai‘i 4-H program. Who, for over a
century, has served youth ages 5-18 with positive youth development programming that
is helping turn their spark into Mastery. Youth participate in Agriculture, STEM, Healthy
Living, and Civic Engagement project work. Youth sparks drive youth to achieve
personal and professional achievement. Hawai’i 4-H serves 3,497 youth across all
islands.

Based upon research conducted at CTAHR, a corporation was created to implement
supercooling technology. Jun Innovations’ Supercooling Technology changes the way
people purchase, store, and enjoy their food., using electric and magnetic fields to
prevent ice crystallization at subzero temperatures. One of the merits of using fish for
the validation of this process is Hawai‘i’s centralized location in the Pacific, as well
consumption preferences among the diverse local cultures. We see the Hawai‘i fish
industry as a first pilot to validate the process and increase awareness for our
supercooling technology. Jun Innovations plans on extending beyond Hawai‘i to include
distribution channels to the US mainland, and later, the world with completion of ‘proof
of concept’ and production of ‘commercially viable unit’. The company has been able to
create many job opportunities to hire local young engineers who were born and raised
in the State.

Natural resource conservation and management

The CTAHR Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management’s
(NREM) vision is to discover and extend innovative solutions for sustainable natural
resource use and environmental management for the State as well as other Pacific
islands for the benefit of residents, communities, farmers, and the tourism industry
which is one of major drivers to the economic growth of the State. NREM faculty helps
farmers enhance soil health, and develop and adopt climate-smart agriculture practices,
and, in collaboration with UH Mānoa’s Hawai‘i Natural Energy Institute (HNEI), the
economics of alternative energy sources to reduce the State's highest energy costs in
the U.S. NREM continues to graduate the next-generation workforce who actively work
in federal/state/county government agencies, NGOs/NPOs, or the private sector, and
contribute to the State's prosperity. NREM's extension faculty engage residents,
communities, farmers, and other stakeholders in the effective management of natural
resources and ecosystems for the improvement of the State's natural capital.

Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) programs in Hawai‘i encompass a diverse range
of initiatives, each yielding significant cost-benefit advantages for the state. For
instance, the Kid Savings Program, an FCS-driven initiative aimed at promoting
financial literacy among children, offers profound long-term benefits. Early financial
education not only empowers young individuals with essential money management
skills but also results in improved financial decision-making later in life. As participants


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develop responsible spending habits and savings behaviors, they are better equipped to
navigate adulthood's financial challenges, ultimately reducing the burden on social
assistance programs, and contributing to overall economic stability. Grandparents
raising grandchildren (GrandCares) is a unique concern in Hawai‘i’s cultural,
multigenerational context, and FCS programs designed to support these families can
yield substantial societal benefits. Providing assistance and resources to grandparents
who have taken on the role of primary caregivers reduces the strain on the foster care
system and related social services.

And during this incredibly challenging time with both the ongoing stresses that farm
producers experience, and the Maui Fires, the Seeds of Wellbeing (SOW) program has
been deploying trained hundreds of peer-coaches to support mental health wellbeing of
our agricultural producers.

In summary, agriculture in Hawai‘i needs adequate resources to contribute as an
economic driver to the State’s economic growth and stability. The recent wildfire
disaster on Maui is an example of Hawai‘i’s vulnerability to climate change and natural
disasters that have negative, potentially catastrophic, impacts on our economic security
because of our geographic isolation. CTAHR is committed to be a quality higher
education resource, providing applied, vocational, and academic training to solve
complex and interrelated problems in food systems, food security, natural resources
management, community resiliency, and human well-being in Hawai‘i and the Pacific-
Asia region.

Thank for the opportunity to provide testimony before the committee.




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