KC3 Essay Draft: Agriculture

Hawaii holds a variety of resources. One of the most important being its agriculture, which makes up much of its gross state product. In fact, Hawaii's sugar canes and pineapples contribute to more in total sales than other crops, which include bananas, coffee, papayas, ginger, and macadamia nuts.

Because Hawaii has a mild, year-round climate, approximately 40 percent of its land is farmland. Here, you can find about 3,600 crop farms and 1,100 livestock farms, although 90% of Hawaii's food is still imported. With all of the resources we have, I think that Hawaii would be able to thrive within its own produce. Also, importing a smaller amount of food here will possibly lead to price drops for food, due to the fact that it isn't cheap. For the past 20 years, Hawaii's economy has depended on tourism, although its agriculture is slowly catching up. I think that it's good that Hawaii is slowly turning to natural resources for a better economy. Unlike agriculture, tourism is vulnerable and if the number of tourists decline, Hawaii's economy would most likely go downhill. Although Hawaii's agricultures is working to be sustainable.

Hawaii was recently planning for a more sustainable farming system. To some, sustainability is about protecting the environment, and to others, it was seen as a matter of economic resilience. To me, sustainability is the conservation of certain natural resources. I think that relying on sustainable resources will help Hawaii economically and environmentally. Also, having more farming systems in Hawaii leads to more jobs. Considering the fact that Hawaii is starting to depend on its agriculture, I think that this is a good thing. Also, local food production will buffer Hawaii's supply of external forces, allowing it to depend less on imported foods. And even though farm employment is declining nationally, Hawaii's is growing.

Hawaii's agricultural sales make approximately $1.94 billion annually. That means that agriculture contributes to about 3% of gross state product. I think that if Hawaii would make more money on agricultural services, Hawaii could start turning towards agriculture as its most important resource. If we continue to promote agriculture as our most important resource, Hawaii could be a cleaner, more environmentally-friendly place to live in. Although building an agricultural industry has its own downsides. For example, farmers don't invest much on their equipment, which leads to thousands of acres of uncultivated land. I think the government should focus on agricultural services more. Farms should be funded by the government to help the farmers out. Appreciating, respecting, and sharing land is a basic Hawaiian value; it is 'Aloha Made Visible.'

Agriculture was very important to human beings since the beginning of time. Although it still is, we are still relying on un-natural, or processed foods to get us by through our everyday lives. Although that can change. Making agriculture more important is one step to bringing back the more, natural, side of Hawaii, if you will. And hopefully, a greener Hawaii may spread and lead to other parts of the world to change the way they live.