Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 11, 1 November 1989 — Kalo farming opportunities grow [ARTICLE]

Kalo farming opportunities grow

By Deborah Lee Ward Editor, Ka Wai Ola O OHA Can Hawaii's kalo (taro) industry, recently beset by shortages, meet the growing demand of loeal residents, emerging overseas markets and the food industry? What efforts are being made to expand the industry? How is kalo's eeonomie value being recognized? Why are an estimated 600,000 pounds of kalo imported eaeh year? Why is poi so expensive?

These questions were addressed at the recent Kalo Ho'olaule'a in Wai'anae by Dr. Chauncey Ching, director of the Hawaii Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, and by Jim Hollyer, researcher in agriculture and resource e-

conomics in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) at UH Manoa. Their talk in the Wai'anae library was part of the Kalo Ho'olaulea lecture program. Ching, an eeonomist by training, knows first-hand the difficulties taro farmers face. His father was a taro farmer in Waihee Valley on Maui.

Onee a dominant crop in Hawai'i, kalo farming has declined. Ching said that in 1800, when the populahon of the islands was about 300,000 persons, a pound of poi a day per person would have kept 20,000 acres in production. A daily average of 15 pounds per person would have kept 311,000 acres in taro production. By comparison, the sugar incontinued on page 15

Kalo farming

from page 1 dustry in Hawai'i today covers about 180,000 acres, he said. Yet, in 1988 there were only 153 farms planting 420 acres of Chinese and poi taro in Hawai'i. According to the Hawai'i Agricultural Statistics Service, production of poi taro decreased by 20 acres that year, while production of Chinese taro increased by 40 acres.

Ching said that current kalo production is not meeting the loeal market potential. Farmers aren't able to meet demand. The limited supply causes higher prices and limits purchases, he said. However, he noted there is room to expand both the loeal and export market, if opportunities are seized to meet the growing demand, and if a eooperative approach to quality marketingistaken. Why is the College of Tropical Agriculture and