Aloha,

A visit last week to Richard Ha’s farm in Pepeeko, north of Hilo, reminded me that people across Hawaii are taking the principles of innovation, sustainability and preservation of open space and making them happen.

Anyone who doubts that we can build a better future for Hawaii with our own hands, heads and adaptive government policy ought to visit the Ha family, hard at work on the slopes of Mauna Kea. They are growing bananas, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and lots of other crops on 600 acres, and employing more than 60 people.

On top of supplying lots of food to KTA Supermarkets, farmer’s markets, and even Costco, Richard and his family are working on getting the farm to run on totally renewable energy.

This isn’t sustainability as some buzzword – the Ha family is doing it.

I was encouraged by Richard mentioning that he hopes to use the Legacy Lands Act to assist him on the financial side, and the net energy metering law to help him to maximize the use of clean energy. These were both laws that I helped to pass in my tenure in the legislature, and to see it in practice was quite a thrill.

Hawaii is not Hawaii without us working together to preserve open space. That means supporting conservation lands and keeping agricultural lands productive. It benefits everyone to keep farms productive, to keep the country country, and to diversify and enlarge our farmlands.

The Ha family and farmers across Hawaii are living what they believe. And they are too busy literally growing our future to be active in politics. With your support, I will work to ensure our open space is protected, that farmers are represented well, and that agricultural lands are productive.

That means that we need political leaders who don’t just give lip service to sustainable farming and agriculture, but those who listen to farmers, buyers, distributors, and others, and know what it takes to keep Hawaii green.

Mahalo,

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