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A Brief History of Hawaii Island Agriculture
<br />Historians suggest that Polynesian voyagers first settled in the Hawaiian Archipelago on the
<br />island now called Hawaii about two millennia ago. These early settlers brought with them at
<br />least twenty individual crops and three domestic animals to support their agricultural lifestyle.
<br />Half of the plant crops were food items (taro, ti, sweet potato, breadfruit, banana, sugarcane,
<br />kukui nut, coconut, and Polynesia arrowroot), and the other half was comprised of both
<br />medicinal plants (gingers, noni, Vena, `awa) and structural plants (bamboo, gourds, and fibers).
<br />Their success was spectacular. Roughly, 1,800 years later, when the English fleet sailing under
<br />Captain James Cook arrived in Kealakekua Bay, the civilization on this island supported an
<br />oligarchy with discrete and well-defined ruling classes: a priesthood, a scholar class, a warrior
<br />class, and numerous specialist trades, e.g., canoe builders, stone workers, chanters, artisans,
<br />weavers, and land managers (konohiki). Moreover, agriculture producers with crops fed all of
<br />these people from well-designed and maintained irrigation and field systems and world famous
<br />sustainable large-scale aquaculture.
<br />Why is this relevant as background to the 2010 County of Hawaii Agriculture Development
<br />Plan? Because it is important to know that this remote and isolated island historically supported
<br />as many people as it does now, with no trade routes or imports of any kind. Without labor-
<br />saving technologies, fossil -fuel based soil amendments, motorized distribution systems, or new
<br />crop varieties; without refrigeration or food preservation technologies like canning or drying;
<br />without crops that lent themselves to extended storage, like the small grains of the Mediterranean
<br />region; and with a balanced agriculture that included food production as well as structural, fiber,
<br />medicinal and cosmetic crops. It is most important to note that these early Hawaiians did not
<br />develop the proto-typical subsistence lifestyle of tropical Africa or the Amazon River Basin.
<br />Instead, they evolved a highly productive stratified society where some of the people were
<br />agriculture producers so that other members of society had sufficient time and resources to
<br />pursue other interests.
<br />After Captain Cook sailed into Kealakekua Bay, and trade routes began to open with improved
<br />shipbuilding, the Hawaiians launched an agriculture export economy, exporting sandalwood and
<br />similar forest products to China and building an entire industry around replenishing food and
<br />water for the sea -trade. This export economy was sufficient to create a treasury; support the
<br />military unification of the islands by Kamehameha I, including the outright purchase of two
<br />European warships; and provide at least three generations of nobility with both high mobility and
<br />higher education—beyond even what Europe, Canton, or Nippon offered their ruling classes of
<br />the time.
<br />Recent Market Trends
<br />In keeping with the definition of agriculture production chosen for this plan, and as a critical
<br />foundation for the recommendations that follow, it is valuable to look at market trends for
<br />Hawaii Island agriculture. The more recent history of the island remains one of a vibrant
<br />agriculture industry supporting both local and export markets in all elements of the agricultural
<br />sector including food, fiber, medicine, structural components, horticulture, and other uses. Labor
<br />from Asia, Europe, and North America were imported to meet the demands for Hawaii Island
<br />agriculture production. As these new immigrants came to the island, new crops and new
<br />agriculture production patterns came with them. The shift of diet away from poi and laulau to
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