COM 0882.009 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Taro Farmers Legislative needs for 2008: ' Onipa' a Na Hui Kalo, a statewide hui of taro farmers; Kahn o Haloa, a statwide coalition ofo.; taro farmers, Hawaiians, teachers, students, and supporters of Haloa; the Kauai Taro Growers Association and many concerned constituents request the honorable Representatives and Senators of the Hawaii State Legislature to VOTE YES on the following bills in this 2008 season. We are constituents from each of your districts and Haloa, the taro, is all of our responsibility. These bills are the result of a great deal of collaboration, assessment, evaluation and effort on the part of taro fanners statewide over the last several years. Taro provides this state with food, health, livelihood, education, and economic vitality (in sectors far beyond fanning). It is the foundation of Hawaiian culture and a source of sustainability for all. A strong record of support for taro and tam farmers from the legislature in the last fifty years has been absent. Let us change that - together! 1. SB958 GMO Taro 10 Year Moratorium. The State of Hawaii has made a commitment to the survival of the Hawaiian culture (Article X). A moratorium is essential to keep kalo/cuhure intact. Experimentation puts the Hawaiian culture at an unacceptable level of risk. The State has also made a commitment to sustainability (Senator Kokobun's Task Force) through a diverse and innovative economy. GMO crops promote dependence, lack of diversity and a deadly risk to Hawa?i's environment and traditional tam cultivar biodiversity. 2. I3B1736/SB1854 Recognizing taro and taro lands as a unique and cherished resource This 2007 bill addresses the crisis facing traditional Hawaiian taro varieties and traditional taro-growing lands of vanishing from these islands. There is an urgent need to increase protections for these valuable resources and to maintain or increase opportunities to revitalize taro cultivation now, as we work on improving tam purity and security (recognized as important under SCR206 in 2007). This bill, with updated language for 2008, will provide the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture the ability to better protect these resources in the interim and for the future. 3. Fill /SB_ Taro Purity and Security Task Force This new bill is the result of collaboration between taro farmers, the DOA, and the University of Hawaii. The dialogue initiated by SCR206 in 2007 yielded great promise. The bill calls for a 2-Year Task Force, funded to ensure that two farmers can fully participate, to broaden and deepen the dialogue that will guide decisions for the fidure of tam research and policy. It has agency, institution and taro farmer support. 4. HB /SB_ An appropriation for 1'aru?er4based apple 9=2 control research Controlling the apple snail is the highest priority for commercial and subsistence wetland growers at this time. The snail causes up to 250% crop losses and 50% labor increases annually. In 23 years, less than $400,000 has been spent on this pest, yet it is one of the most highly invasive aquatic species to attack agricultural crops and infest freshwater bodies from reservoirs to wetlands in Hawaii. Successful taro farmer based research and snail control efforts needs serious funding rather than small grants. *0-0-0*004400 Some of you come from tam farming families and histories yourselves; most ofyour children and grandchildren have taken school trips to the two patch. We urge you to reach back to the source and stand tall for Haloa, for the future of all our children and the wellbeing of the islands! p Mahalo for your support. yvr / ~P 583 Comm No. p g V . 9 Kahu o Haloa Ref. Toe Ms Ref. Dote %11414 4% juuar QCa- 7?S' -906