HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

220

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING the immediate ESTABLISHment of THE SEED BREEDING INDUSTRY IN WEST MAUI.

 

 


     WHEREAS, the area of west Maui from Lahaina to Olowalu was once the home of a thriving sugar industry that kept thousands of acres of land in the area for agriculture and provided numerous jobs for the local community; and

 

     WHEREAS, article XI of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii calls for the State to "promote diversified agriculture, increase agricultural self-sufficiency and assure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands"; and

 

     WHEREAS, the abandonment of agriculture in the area has ultimately led to numerous wildfires that not only threaten residents but also denude the hills thereby placing at risk the loss of tons of valuable topsoil due to run-off; and

 

     WHEREAS, developers are buying many of these former agricultural lands from Lahaina to Olowalu for conversion into speculation properties and luxury housing, thereby creating urban sprawl, overcrowding, and traffic gridlock as well as an overall decline in the quality of life in the area; and

 

     WHEREAS, because of the conversion to hotel rooms and the recent losses in the pineapple industry, valuable unionized jobs in west Maui are being eliminated at an alarming rate; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the seed industry is one of the fastest-growing agricultural industries in Hawaii with a commercial value of $70,400,000 and has surpassed the longtime staples of pineapple and sugar in crop value; it has generated over $144,000,000 of economic revenue for the State annually; and while the seed breeding industry has grown, the real estate speculator market continues to decline; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Governor in her State-of-the-State address called for a shifting of the State's economy away from land speculation to other successful diversified businesses such as agriculture and the seed breeding industry; and

 

     WHEREAS, a vast majority of the pollination work done in the seed breeding industry is done by hand pollination similar to methods pioneered over one hundred years ago and is a long-standing practice in agriculture; and

 

     WHEREAS, the seed corn industry has proven to be a success in west Kauai, which has similar climate, rainfall, and temperature as west Maui and there are no organic farms in west Maui using the seed corn, soybean, alfalfa, and wheat crops; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that representatives of the seed breeding industry, the Maui Farm Bureau, and the landowners in west Maui are requested to enter into immediate negotiations for the establishment of a seed breeding industry in west Maui; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of the Governor, the Chairperson of the state Board of Agriculture, the Mayor of Maui County, the Maui County Council, the Maui Farm Bureau, and the ILWU Local 142 are requested to facilitate and support negotiations for the establishment of a seed breeding industry in west Maui; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture, the Mayor of Maui County, the Maui County Council, and the chief executive officers of Pioneer Hi‑Bred International, Monsanto, Syngenta, the Maui Farm Bureau, the ILWU Local 142, Makila Land Corporation, and AMFAC/JMB.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Establishing the Seed Breeding Industry in West Maui