HR294 HD1

WHEREAS, sections 3 and 10 of article XI of the Hawaii Constitution mandate the support and promotion of diversified agricultural activities and agricultural self-sufficiency for the state; and

WHEREAS, Act 183, Session Laws of Hawaii 2005, in establishing a process for important agricultural lands, declared that the policy of the State is to:

(1) Conserve and protect agricultural lands;

(2) Promote diversified agriculture;

(3) Increase agricultural self-sufficiency; and

(4) Assure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands;

and

WHEREAS, numerous concurrent efforts are proposing other ways, means, and incentives to promote agriculture in the state; and

WHEREAS, there may be more opportunities for our local agricultural products to compete in the local, national, and international markets if our agricultural products are properly processed, packaged, and assembled locally, however, the state currently does not have a facility to serve such purposes; and

WHEREAS, there is an area of approximately 8,000 contiguous acres of valuable Hawaii farmland in the Ewa, central Oahu area that is being purchased by companies and that will provide for a diverse mix of farming operations, both large and small; and

WHEREAS, a landowner, Campbell Estate, has indicated a willingness to donate to the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, approximately 119 acres of this land together with improvements, including agricultural worker housing and existing facilities for agricultural offices and agribusinesses; and

WHEREAS, this situation presents an invaluable opportunity to build a multipurpose, multi-user processing facility in the state for the complete production of value-added products; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, that the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (UH-CTAHR) is requested to study the feasibility of constructing a multipurpose, multi-user processing facility on the land in the Ewa, central Oahu area being offered to the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, for the production of value-added products that make use of locally-grown agricultural products; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that UH-CTAHR is requested to consider the following in its study:

(1) The feasibility of using a large, multipurpose processing facility that serves multiple users and produces different value-added agricultural products;

(2) The type of owner-operator that would be appropriate for the facility, whether public, private, or a combination thereof;

(3) The types of packaged or finished value-added products that may be processed by the facility;

(4) The local, national, and international markets that may be targeted for products of the processing facility;

(5) The latest emerging technologies that may be used in processing and marketing Hawaii agricultural products; and

(6) Any information that may be provided by the National Conference of State Legislatures as to whether other states have experienced a similar phenomenon of the demise of large, plantation-style agricultural industries over a relatively short period of time, leaving much of the plantation lands fallow and the supporting infrastructure unused and decaying;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that UH-CTAHR is requested to consult with the Department of Agriculture, Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Agribusiness Development Corporation, Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, Hawaii Food Manufacturers Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, and other stakeholders in the agriculture industry; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that UH-CTAHR is requested to report its findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than 45 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2009; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, Director of Land and Natural Resources, Executive Director of the Agribusiness Development Corporation, Dean of the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, and the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture who, in turn, is requested to transmit copies to the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, Hawaii Food Manufacturers Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, and other appropriate stakeholders in the agriculture industry.

Report Title:

Agricultural Processing Facility; Study

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	294
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII