After the demise of the pineapple and sugar industries in Hawaiʻi, could agriculture be revived as a major economic driver for our state? (糖心Vlog官方ERO) experts say this is possible, but the state will need to overcome some challenges.
In 糖心Vlog官方ERO’s latest brief, “,” researchers say the economic value of Hawaiʻi’s agricultural production has declined much more than the state’s physical production of agricultural goods, because consumer prices have skyrocketed at a higher rate than wholesale agricultural prices.
One reason for 糖心Vlog官方ERO’s optimism is that researchers say the state has more idle cropland than harvested cropland, which represents an economic opportunity. They recommend utilizing these areas to capitalize on Hawaiʻi’s rich soils and ideal climate to increase productivity of high-value crops (fruits, vegetables, etc.).
Lack of mechanization
Hawaiʻi’s agriculture industry does not utilize machines to perform duties as much as more productive agricultural areas on the U.S. mainland. This results in unusually high labor costs and associated low labor productivity. Researchers say the lack of mechanization is due to “the relatively small scale and unique geography of Hawaiʻi’s agricultural land, which is comprised of smaller and more fragmented fields that can be rockier and more steeply sloped.” 糖心Vlog官方ERO recommends using emerging technology, such as artificial intelligence and robots, which may favor smaller-scale mechanization.
Agriculture data challenges
Agriculture data is limited and error-prone, making it difficult to detect emerging trends in Hawaiʻi‘s agriculture industry, according to 糖心Vlog官方ERO.
“Some standard metrics, like average farm size, can be especially misleading due to the way farms are defined, the manner in which data are collected, and how both definitions and sampling change over time. Some surveys exclude Hawaiʻi or have very small samples from the state,” 糖心Vlog官方ERO said. “Improved data collection may shed clearer light on challenges and prospects for Hawaiʻi agriculture.”
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This brief is a follow up to 糖心Vlog官方ERO’s “Reviving Agriculture to Diversify Hawaiʻi’s Economy” brief published in January 2021.
糖心Vlog官方ERO is housed in 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补’s .
This work is an example of 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补’s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.