01-28-2008, 11:08 AM
Agriculture can be done on any number of levels and scales. A thousand people with quarter acre gardens could more than equal a 250 acre farm, depending on how intensively those quarter acres are cultivated. In some cultures the norm for agriculture is a tiny plot that is used to its maximum potential productivity. The agribusiness model of the mainland USA has economies of scale, but it is energy intensive (petroleum, mostly) and not the most productive model for most areas of the planet. I suspect that something in between these two extremes would work best in Hawaii.
Meanwhile, there's nothing more local than eating what literally comes out of one's own back yard. Bear and I happily raise 90%+ of our own vegetables and have surplus to share and swap. (I have been an abject failure at tomatoes and bulb onions, alas.) Our fruit orchard is coming on line much sooner than we expected, so we will be self-sufficient in that category soon. We got the nice palms across the front of our property in trade for collard greens and turnips, and got a electrical problem fixed for a bushel of lilikoi.
I support agriculture in Hawaii every day by digging in the dirt in HPP. Somebody smarter than me will have to figure out how to make it work as a full-on business here.
Cheers,
Jerry
Meanwhile, there's nothing more local than eating what literally comes out of one's own back yard. Bear and I happily raise 90%+ of our own vegetables and have surplus to share and swap. (I have been an abject failure at tomatoes and bulb onions, alas.) Our fruit orchard is coming on line much sooner than we expected, so we will be self-sufficient in that category soon. We got the nice palms across the front of our property in trade for collard greens and turnips, and got a electrical problem fixed for a bushel of lilikoi.
I support agriculture in Hawaii every day by digging in the dirt in HPP. Somebody smarter than me will have to figure out how to make it work as a full-on business here.
Cheers,
Jerry