Maui residents share a compelling need for more diversified agriculture. Maui has an excellent climate which can meet that need. The ongoing loss of agricultural land to speculation and sprawl is an unhealthy economic and social trend. New legislation plus a commitment by county officials to enforce existing laws offers hope that enough farmland will remain available for our future needs and a more sustainable economy.
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New state program pays farmers to restore unused farmlands
The state of Hawaii has started a new program that will pay
ranchers and farmers to plant native species on land they aren’t using
for crops. The $67 million program is expected to restore habitat for
endangered species, reduce soil erosion and prevent fertilizers from
draining into streams that flow into the ocean.
Permaculture: coming to life on Maui
Local resident Claire Kellerman, of KLARITY.org, founded the Maui
Permaculture Network in 2006. She says that the "ethics" of
permaculture are: "1) Care of the earth. 2) Care of the people. 3)
Sharing and returning the surplus of abundance and beauty."
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Lingle weighs ag land development bill
Owners of prime agricultural land could convert 15 percent of their
acreage into new housing developments, under a bill awaiting Gov. Linda
Lingle’s signature. Concerned parties on both sides have been turning
up the heat on Lingle as she weighs the merits of the bill, which would
require the landowners to devote the other 85 percent of their property
to farm use more or less in perpetuity. Proponents say the bill will
help preserve ag land that is being diverted to housing under current
land use laws.
Deal ensures farm use of Kipahulu site
A Kipahulu landowner has granted a conservation easement to the Maui
Coastal Land Trust to assure that a 75-acre property will remain in
agricultural use for perpetuity, trust President Tom
Blackburn-Rodriguez has announced. The property formerly was in sugar
cane and used for grazing, but the owner, a family trust, has begun
restoring the land as an organic agricultural operation. The farming
operation will include orchard trees as well as construction-grade
bamboo and varieties of trees that can be harvested as timber,
including koa, kou, kamani, mahogany and teak. The area has been named
"Ola Honua", for "life-giving earth".
