Sustainable Agriculture

June 8, 2018

Annual Ag Fair Day 2018

There was information on sustainable agriculture, farming, animal production, bee harvesting, and aquaponics by the students of horticulture, animal science, entomology, beekeeping, sustainable agriculture, value-added products and aquaculture.

By Justin Ziminsky.

Students holding goats wrapped in towels. — Animal science students and farm animal exhibits.

Student stands by display. — Kawika Carduz, Ag 205 student, showcased value-added products using eco-friendly ingredients

Professor and students seated at table. — Assistant Professor of Entomology Jesse Eiben (at left) and students in entomology showcased insect collections.

Professor with mic. — (Left to right) Professor of Entomology Lorna Tsutsumi and Dean Bruce Mathews gave welcome remarks.

The College of Agriculture Forestry and Natural Resource Management (CAFNRM) at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo opened its annual Ag Fair Day on April 27, 2018. The fair was very educational for students and visitors alike. There was a lot of information on sustainable agriculture, farming, animal production, bee harvesting, and aquaponics available for everyone by the students of horticulture, animal science, entomology, beekeeping, sustainable agriculture, value-added products and aquaculture.

June 6, 2018

AG230 students give garden tour to 205 pre-K to high school students

Garden tours given by UH Hilo ag students are a regular contribution to Earth Day Fair celebrations since the gardens were established in 2009 by former students.

By Norman Arancon, Associate Professor of Horticulture.

Student speaking to schoolchildren in the garden. — Lehua Patnaude, student of AG230, led tours in the gardens by the UH Hilo library lanai during the annual Earth Day Fair, April 20, 2018.

Some 205 students from local pre-K and high schools all over the Big Island toured the gardens by the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Library Lanai during the celebration of this year’s Earth Day. The gardens were showcased by the Ag230 students of spring 2018. This has been a regular contribution of the class to Earth Day celebrations since these gardens were established in 2009 by former students.

April 11, 2018

UH Hilo-led algae research could combat climate change

The study—led by affiliate researchers in the UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management—creates a new, combined process to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, produce food and electricity, and reduce deforestation.

Algae cells under microscope. — Microalgae – Nannochloropsis sp. Photo credit: CSIRO.

Researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, in affiliation with Duke and Cornell universities, have co-authored a study that suggests making croplands more efficient through algae production could unlock an important negative emission technology to combat climate change.

The research, “Integrating Algae with Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage (ABECCS) Increases Sustainability,” is funded by a U.S. Department of Energy award and was recently published in the journal Earth’s Future. This funding is a Marine Algae Industrialization Consortium (MAGIC) grant for which Bruce Mathews, dean of the UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management (CAFNRM), serves as the facilitating principal investigator at UH Hilo. Duke University subcontracted the overall project out to multiple institutions, including UH Hilo.

February 27, 2018

UH Hilo hosts 6th Annual Sustainability in Higher Education Summit

Student and faculty delegates from all 10 campuses of the University of Hawai‘i System joined together for extensive breakout sessions, brainstorming, strategic planning and more.

By Alexis Stubbs, Sophomore, Tropical Horticulture.

Students working in large open area on campus. — In preparation for showcasing UH Hilo’s sustainability projects during the summit, Professor Norman Arancon’s Sustainable Agriculture class (AG 230) worked together to beautify the surrounding areas and revitalize the nearby Waste Sustainability through Composting and Vermicomposting Project in progress.

Tis the season to be ‘susty’! It’s that time of year again when student and faculty delegates from all 10 campuses of the University of Hawai‘i join together for extensive breakout sessions, brainstorming, strategic planning and more. The 6th Annual Sustainability in Higher Education Summit was hosted on Hawai‘i Island at UH Hilo and Palamanui on February 8-10, 2018, for the first time.

February 13, 2018

UH Hilo sustainable agriculture program ranks among top five in the country for affordability

At just $10,000 annual net price, UH Hilo students can prepare themselves for a great diversity of careers in the tropical context, whether government or private sector.

Maria McCarthy handling plants. — UH Hilo student Maria McCarthy performs vegetative propagation on ornamental plants.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo offers one of the top five values in the nation for sustainable agriculture degree programs, according to the online ranking organization CollegeValuesOnline.com. UH Hilo’s bachelor of science in tropical plant sciences and agroecology is ranked fourth of 20 in net price in delivering higher education in sustainable agriculture at an affordable price.

In the ranking, UH Hilo is described as offering “the unique angle of tropical plant sciences for those wishing to labor in tropical zones. At just $10,000 annual net price, students can prepare themselves for a great diversity of careers in the tropical context, whether government or private sector.”

February 2, 2018

Dean’s Column: Sustainable economic development visions in West Sumatra, Indonesia

There are new opportunities for Hawaiʻi as an agricultural technology node and as a model for self-reliant food and food production in tropical islands.

By Bruce Mathews, dean of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management, University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.

Ardi. Mathews, and Evensen standing for photo — (Left to right) Dr. Ardi from Andalas University, West Sumatra, Indonesia; UH Hilo CAFNRM Dean Bruce Mathews; and UH Mānoa CTAHR Natural Resource Management Specialist Carl Evensen, at Sherman Hall, UH Mānoa.

On 13-14 November, 2017, I was invited to Honolulu to meet with a delegation from West Sumatra, Indonesia to the East-West Center, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), and the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The delegation included the governor of West Sumatra, The Hon. Irwan Prayitno, and the former dean of the faculty of agriculture at Andalas University in Padang, West Sumatra, Dr. Ardi.

Dr. Ardi presented a talk on the outcomes 30 years henceforth of the TropSoils Indonesia project conducted by CTAHR, the Indonesian Center for Soils Research, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Sumatra during the 1980s. The project developed sustainable agricultural practices based on integrated nutrient and pest management for resource limited farmers cultivating the regions acidic, low-fertility soils. Overall the economic standing of local residents improved as a result of the project however there are new challenges that need to be addressed for farmers to sustainably intensify their operations and be resilient in the face of climate change and other stresses.

June 30, 2017

Dean’s Column: Agricultural innovation for resilience and rural development in Hawaiʻi

Agricultural modernization is essential to enhance the productive capacity of environmentally-friendly integrative farming systems, farm worker and food product safety, and thereby economic return per unit land area.

By Bruce Mathews.

Whenever there are allegations of pollution or health risks generated by a medium or large scale agricultural operation there are always people who blanket attack modern agriculture, technology, and corporations. They then often advocate for small farms, production methods of the past, or even worse strongly endorse unverified “miracle” practices.

The problem with looking too much to the past is that it can stifle support for innovation which is key to a resilient food-secure future, and rural economic development. Furthermore in our often romanticized view of small farmers feeding half the world we tend to easily forget that many of these people live on a subsistence diet and frequently suffer hunger and malnutrition due to low and (or) inconsistent yields.

June 30, 2017

UH Hilo Agriculture Club visits local cacao farm

This tour was such a unique experience for me because I didn’t know much about cacao, but now I have a better understanding of what it’s like to process it.

Students gathered in orchard. — Alumnus Colin Hart talks to students about orchard airflow.

By Tiera Arakawa.

If you are looking for fun and adventure throughout the school year, a club to consider is the Agriculture Club. The Agriculture Club goes on adventures, tours, does projects that the students would like to do, and volunteers with various jobs of interest. Since my sophomore year of college, I have realized how important it is to get involved around the campus, find ways to give back to the community around us, and make long lasting friendships. For that reason, I decided to join the Agriculture Club because agriculture is what I am passionate about and I like to know that the little things that I do, especially volunteering is making a positive impact in our community.

June 30, 2017

Crop of the Month: ‘Ulu

The entire breadfruit tree is a multipurpose and useful resource.

By Damon Adamson.

Belonging to the Moracceae (Fig or Mulberry Family), breadfruit or ‘ulu in Hawai‘i encompasses four primary sub-species: Artocarpus altilis, Artocarpus incisus, Artocarpus mariannensis or Artocarpus communis. Grown in the Hawaiian Islands, as well as throughout the Pacific Basin area. They have been hybridized and many diversities have become prolific. There are currently 24 distinct species of breadfruit. Fruit size, shape, coloration, seeded or seedless, and seasonal ripening are a few of the differences.

March 13, 2017

Dean’s Column: Is food independence realistically achievable on the Big Island?

There are few annual crops where the farmer can recover costs of high fertilizer and soil amendment inputs required for desired yields coupled with disease and pests in this environment.

By Bruce Mathews.

On January 9, the Hawaiʻi Island Food Alliance Food Access Working Group, together with The Food Basket, The Kohala Center, and the state Department of Health, hosted a presentation in Hilo by Ken Meter (president of the Cross-roads Resource Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota) that was entitled “Growing Secure Food Systems in Hawaiʻi”. The presentation focused on how the pre-European contact native Hawaiians were completely food independent and that the 1900s resulted in a downward spiral in food production in Hawaiʻi, which was particularly rapid from the 1940s onward. The mid 1960s was the last time that about half the food consumed in Hawaiʻi was produced here. The stated goal was to instigate change that results in greatly improved food independence on the Big Island. There was even quite a bit of discussion regarding community-based food systems and avoiding the cash-based economy, and doing food barter.