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William P. Kenoi j � Laverne R. Omori <br /> Mayor ;Imo: • Acting Director <br /> County of Hawai' i <br /> DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT <br /> 25 Aupuni Street, Room 1301 • Hilo,Hawai i 96720-4252 <br /> (808)961-8366• Fax(808)935-1205 <br /> E-mail: chresdev @co.hawaii.hi.us <br /> April 19,2013 <br /> Mr. Russell Kokubun,Chairperson <br /> State of Hawaii, Department of Agriculture <br /> 1428 S. King Street <br /> Honolulu, HI 96814 <br /> Subject: Request for Funding:Agricultural Post-Harvest Model: Production, <br /> Processing Marketing Facility <br /> Dear Chairman Kokubun: <br /> Based on prior conversations with the Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Development <br /> Division(ADD),the County of Hawaii requests your consideration to fund the"kick start"of <br /> a post harvest/value added facility to serve farmers along the Hilo/Hamakua coast. Hawai'i <br /> Island needs a processing facility to transform products that are not sold fresh but can be <br /> changed into a value-added product to create a revenue stream for farmers and <br /> manufacturers. This facility will include production,processing and marketing of our island's <br /> agricultural commodities. <br /> Since the closing of the sugar operation at Mauna Kea and Hamakua Sugar,there has been a <br /> significant upswing in the amount of land in active diversified agricultural production in <br /> Hamakua and Hilo. Currently,there are over 1,800 acres of tropical fruit production along the <br /> coast,more than 2,000 acres of truck crops,200 acres of banana,a major greenhouse <br /> tomato operation as well as cacao,heart of palm,macadamia nut and foliage production. In <br /> the nearby Puna area there is also over 2,000 acres of papaya production with opportunities <br /> to create value added products from off-grade fruit. <br /> Some examples of valued added processing might include: <br /> Juice Powder/flour/pulverize Concentrate <br /> Extract Tea N utraceutica I <br /> Dehydrate/fruit leather Cosmetic Dye <br /> Seasoning Puree(foodservice/candy) Fortified beverage <br /> Sauce/salad dressing Chunk/slice/dice/julienne Freeze <br /> Hawai'i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer <br />