“Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful and most noble employment of man”. ~ George Washington “For all gainful professions, nothing is better, nothing more pleasing, nothing more delightful, nothing better becomes a well-bred man than agriculture”. ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero “The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings”. ~ Masanobu Fukuoka

1. September 24,2017
ALEXANDER & BALDWIN
Mr. Christopher Benjamin, President
Mr. Rick Volner, General Manager for Diversified Agriculture
COUNTY OF MAUI
COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF MAUI
The Honorable Mike White, Chairman
The Honorable Robert Carroll, Vice-Chairman
The Honorable Alika Atay
The Honorable Elle Cochran
The Honorable Stacy Crivello
The Honorable Don S. Guzman
The Honorable Riki Hokama
The Honorable Kelly T. King
The Honorable Yuki Lei K. Sugimura
MAUI ELECTRIC COMPANY, LTD.
Ms. Sharon Suzuki, President
Mr. Mat McNeff, Power Supply Manager
Re: A Public Private Partnership – Alexander & Baldwin, Maui County, Maui Electric Maui
– The Patsy Takemoto Mink Center – Response to Comments Received
Dear Mr. Benjamin, Mr. Volner, Council Chairman White, Council Vice Chairman Carroll,
Council Member Atay, Council Member Cochran, Council Member Crivello, Council
Member Guzman, Council Member Hokama, Council Member King, Council Member
Sugimura, Ms. Suzuki and Mr. McNeff,
The question raised is, “Whether or not The Patsy Takemoto Mink Agriculture and
Technology Center is intended to duplicate and replicate the work being accomplished by the
Hawaii Agriculture Research Center (HARC)?” The point raised is, “The Patsy Takemoto
Mink Center is not cost justified as HARC has a current, established presence on Maui”.
The Pasty Takemoto Center will focus on agroecology.
As a science, agroecology was originally developed by researchers
who made careful ecological observations of traditional farming
systems. These observations revealed that 1) traditional farming
systems were not static but actually always changing and adjusting,
and 2) that farmers around the world had developed highly
sophisticated methods of managing and enhancing ecosystem
functions in order to sustainably produce food, fiber, medicine and
fuel. Some of these systems have been around for millenni.

2. A half-century of research and practice in the field of agroecology
has yielded spectacular results for hundreds of thousands of small-
scale farmers and many medium-to-large scale farmers around the
world. But despite its documented benefits, agroecology is still
largely limited to localized experiences and a few, poorly funded
university programs. The problem is systemic. The solution is social
and political.
Agroecology is ecologically and socially antithetical to large-scale
industrial agriculture and does not provide high-return opportunities
for agribusiness companies. Since our land grant universities now
rely primarily on private-sector funding, they carry out very little
agroecological research — agribusiness won’t pay for it.1
What
little government funding does exist for agricultural research has
largely followed the lead of the private sector.
There is general dismissal of agroecology in multilateral and
national policy circles, an absence of agroecology in mainstream
media and a general ignorance among legislators regarding
agroecology.
The silence surrounding agroecology is profoundly disturbing. The
acceptance of corporate monopolization of the planet’s seeds,
plantation-scale monocultures (conventional and organic) and the
“localization” of corporate agrifoods systems, follows on the lack
of an agroecological understanding of food systems.
Source: Overcoming Obstacles to Agroecology. Overcoming By
Eric Holt Gimenez. The Huffington Post. Updated September 7,
2014, accessed September 25, 2017 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-
holt-gimenez/overcoming-obstacles-to-a_b_5568901.html
_____________________
1 “UH Mānoa was founded in 1907 under the Morrill Act as a land grant college of agriculture and
mechanical arts”. Source: A Brief History of UH Mānoa. The Early Years. Accessed September 25,
2017 https://manoa.hawaii.edu/about/history.html

3. UH AGRO-ECOLOGISTS PUBLISHED IN
SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS JOURNAL
UH News. August 21, 2017, accessed September 25, 2017
http://www.hawaii.edu/news/2017/08/21/sustainable-food-systems-journal/
____________
An ecologically sustainable and socially equitable food system, one
that restores ecosystem services, enhances human welfare, and
promotes community-based economic development, is urgently
needed. Applied agroecological research and the development of
regional and community food systems are key means through which
pressing ecological and social externalities may be mitigated.
However, progress in both of these areas has been limited, particularly
in the USA, with constraints in each likely holding the other back.
Source: Albie Miles (University of Hawaii West Oahu, Division of
Social Sciences), Marcia S. DeLonge (Food and Environment
Program, Union of Concerned Scientists, Washington, DC) & Liz
Carlisle (School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences,
Stanford University). Triggering a positive research and policy
feedback cycle to support a transition to agroecology and
sustainable food system. Journal Agroecology and Sustainable
Food Systems. Volume 41, Issue 7 – July 17, 2017, accessed
September 25, 2017
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21683565.2017.1331179?
src=recsys&journalCode=wjsa21
______________________
Alexander & Baldwin Diversified Agriculture for Maui
http://alexanderbaldwin.com/our-businesses/land-operations/diversified-agriculture/

4. Our roots are in agriculture and we are working with farmers and
ranchers to transition 36,000 acres of former sugarcane land in
Central Maui to a diverse patchwork of farms and pastures. We are
furthering energy crops, food and orchard crops, and grass-finished
livestock operations, as well as working with the County of Maui to
establish an agricultural park, to provide additional lands for
small-plot farmers on Maui.
[Emphasis Supplied]
_____________________________________
USDA CENSUS 2012
Small Farms 88 percent of U.S. farms, 48 percent of farmland, 20 percent of sales
Small family farms held 40% of the U.S. cattle inventory and 89% of the horse
inventory in 2012, and grew 64% of all acres in forage production. A third of
small family farms specialized in beef cattle (meaning that more than half of their
income came from beef cattle) and 25 percent specialized in production of a
variety of crops.
Hawaii Farms by size:
1 to 9 acres 4,412
10 to 42 acres 1,752
50 to 179 acres 480
180 to 499 acres 172
500 to 999 acres 57
1,000 acres or more 127
Farms 7,000
Land in Farms 1,129,317 acres
Average size of farm 161 acres
Median size of farm 5 acres
Source: USDA. Accessed September 25, 2017.
https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Online_Resources/Highlights/
SmallFamilyFarms.pdf
_____________________________________

5. FARMS, LAND, AND VALUE OF SALES ON CERTIFIED ORGANIC FARMS
Hawaii 2015 2014
Total certified farms 120 121
Total certified acres 1,646 3,373
Total certified sales ($1,000) 12,576 13,224
In 2015, the United States had 12,818 certified organic farms that produced $6.2
billion in certified organic products. Hawaii had 120 certified organic farms with
1,646 acres of certified land that produced $12.6 million in certified organic
products. Of those farms in Hawaii, 48 percent were certified organic for 10
years or more.
In Hawaii, 72 certified organic farms sold to wholesale markets, 65 farms sold
directly to consumers, and 62 farms sold directly to retail markets and
institutions. The first point of sales for 93 percent of certified organic farms in
Hawaii was within 100 miles of the farm and 18 percent was within 100-499
miles of the farm. Over the next five years, 40 percent of certified organic
operations in Hawaii plan to increase certified organic agricultural
production.
Source: 2015 Certified Organic Survey – Hawaii Pacific Region – Hawaii Field
Office, Honolulu, HI. Accessed September 25, 2017.
https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Online_Resources/Custom_Summaries/2015
_State_Specific_Organic/SmlHI.pdf
THE PATSY TAKEMOTO CENTER
1. Leveraging the core essentials and principles of agroecology
2. Accelerating sustainable growth for organic food production
3. Building and strengthening community partnerships
Respectfully,
Clifton M. Hasegawa
President & CEO
Clifton M. Hasegawa & Associates, LLC