STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2245

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2924

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs and Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 2924 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII COLLEGE OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURE AND HUMAN RESOURCES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources to hire additional staff, including researchers and specialists, to support organic agriculture research and teaching programs.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Hawaii Organic Farmers Association, Hana Health, Moms Going Green, Hawaii Cooperative of Organic Farmers, Hawaii Crop Improvement Association, and three individuals.  Testimony supporting the intent of the measure was submitted by the University of Hawaii and Department of Agriculture.

     Your Committees find that organic farming practices are beneficial to human health and towards the preservation of environmental quality because these practices emphasize sustainability, enhancing soil health, and promoting the practice of growing agricultural products without the use of toxic substances, such as pesticides and fertilizers.  While organic farming is an important building block for maintaining and preserving the State's scenic and environmental resources, it is also an essential element in creating economic viability and preserving the quality of life in rural and agricultural communities.

     According to a national study, approximately 2 per cent of the United States food supply is grown using organic methods and the nationwide retail sales of organic food and beverages in 2005 totaled approximately $12,800,000,000.  There are close to two hundred organic farms in Hawaii, which produce organic products such as coffee, macadamia nuts, bananas, pineapples, ginger, mangoes, citrus fruits, avocados, tomatoes, and salad greens.  The Hawaii Organic Farmers Association, an accredited third party certification agency for the United States Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program, estimates that organic farming in Hawaii is a $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 per year industry.

     There is currently a high and increasing demand for organic produce that exceeds the State's local organic food supply.  To meet this demand, local produce markets and large mainland chain stores must import organic produce from the mainland and other countries.  Unfortunately, the importation of organic produce can result in a higher number of invasive species that are inadvertently brought into the State and can impact the State's agriculture sector, economy, and sustainable food supply.  To assist in nurturing our State's organic agriculture segment and to safeguard our environment from invasive species that may be inadvertently transported to the State via imported organic produce, your Committees recommend that the State should support locally-based organic agriculture.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs and Education that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2924, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2924, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs and Education,

____________________________ NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair

____________________________ JILL TOKUDA, Chair