The ADC Must Be Reformed! (Support HB2418 with Amendments)
It’s clear that the way the Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC) has operated within the last 30 years isn’t working. If we want the future of agriculture and food production in Hawaiʻi to succeed, the agency cannot continue to exist as is. Please join us in supporting HB2418 (ADC reform) with amendments!
The House Committee on Agriculture will be hearing HB2418 on Friday, February 11, 2022 @ 10 AM. Testimonies are due by Thursday, February 10, 2022 @ 10 AM via the Hawaiʻi State Capitol Portal.
(Please scroll down for further details on talking points, proposed amendments, and how to testify remotely)
What is the ADC?
The Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC) is a government agency that controls and manages large agricultural lands and water projects throughout Hawaiʻi. It was originally created in 1994 to "facilitate the transition of agricultural infrastructure from plantation operations into other agricultural enterprises".
In 2021, a shocking audit revealed that the ADC failed to accomplish its mission within its nearly 30-year existence.
The Hawaiʻi State Auditor described the ADC as an agency that "has done little – if anything – to facilitate the development of agriculture enterprises to fill the economic void created by the demise of the sugar and pineapple industries."
Key Highlights from 2021 Audit
(Read the full audit here)
According to James Nakatani, the Executive Director of the ADC, “no one [at the agency] has a deep agricultural background.”
ADC staff and board members either ignore or remain unaware of the agency's duties and overall misunderstand ADC's purpose. This allows the ADC to omit statutory requirements and to operate with little accountability.
Despite being required by statute, the ADC never developed an agribusiness plan for defining and establishing goals, objectives, policies, and priority guidelines. An excerpt from the audit notes the following: “The executive director thinks such a plan is unnecessary: ‘I have everything up here,’ he said, pointing to his head”
The ADC has blatantly mismanaged its various land and water holdings.
ADC’s financial records were not auditable. Important documents like board approvals, license agreements, basic land management records and proof of insurance were missing or non-existent.
Their vacant properties are home to criminal activity, exposing surrounding communities to unnecessary risk.
ADC does not keep an inventory of its land portfolio nor a complete list of its projects, which hampers its ability to effectively manage its diverse holdings
Decades of Controversy
Prior to the 2021 audit, the ADC has also faced additional scandals throughout the years. This includes being sued for blatantly mismanaging land and water resources, people dying on ADC-managed lands, denying local farmers leases without justification, violating the Clean Water Act, allowing tenants to operate without formal leases, and leasing the majority of their landholdings to agrochemical companies that test experimental pesticides and grow herbicide-resistant seed crops.
Regardless of all this, the ADC continues to receive support from powerful officials. It is estimated that the agency has received over a billion dollars in taxpayer funds.
What Has Allowed the ADC to Operate This Way?
When the ADC was first created, the agency was granted exemptions from public land trust regulations, Public Utilities Commission regulations, and civil service laws. These exemptions and special powers have created a lack of transparency around how ADC tenants are selected.
In addition to these exemptions, a lack of overall guidance, oversight, reporting, and accountability have resulted in their failed mission.
We believe that these circumstances have led to some of the problems we see today, but it doesn’t have to stay this way.
This is why HAPA strongly supports HB2418 with amendments.
About the Bill
HB2418 (ADC Reform)
Despite undergoing a scathing audit and decades of controversy, all bills that sought to repeal or reform the agency last year were deferred. This resulted in the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives creating an investigative committee to follow up on the audit and develop a set of recommendations for how best to reform the agency. Those reforms are encapsulated in HB2418.
What Does This Bill Do?
Amends the purpose of the agency to shift from a focus on crops for export to farming and food production for local consumption.
Ensures a variety of agricultural expertise on the governing board of directors, including a focus on sustainable local food production.
Ensures that a comprehensive strategic plan is created for the agency. This would be informed by an analysis of farmer and food producer needs throughout Hawaiʻi. The plan would be reviewed annually to ensure the agency is meeting goals and benchmarks.
Provides greater oversight and direction for the executive director to ensure the agency is being managed to meet its goals for increasing local food production.
What is Missing From This Bill?
Given the social, political, and economic change in recent decades, the work of ADC is not well aligned with state goals. Its practices do not reflect modern knowledge about the impact of large-scale, pesticide-intensive industrial farming. The ADC should also do the following:
Prioritize entering into lease agreements designed to increase the production of local agricultural products. Set lease sizes appropriately to support small and mid-sized food producers.
Establish requirements regarding the amount of leases set aside for the production of local agricultural products for local consumption.
Test its land soils and demand lessees and licensees to remediate soil prior to vacating ADC lands if contaminated.
Why is This Bill Important?
Several studies have shown that small farmers overwhelmingly identified a lack of access to affordable, right-sized farm leases as a major barrier to farming. If Hawaiʻi is to meet its goals of doubling food production for local consumption, the agency must be reformed. Rather than focusing on using agribusiness for export, ADC-managed lands could be used to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s food security. The ADC should be a part of the solution in prioritizing access for farmers that are committed to sustainably producing food for local consumption.
It is critical that our government agencies manage Hawaiʻi’s public lands for the public good.
What You Can Do
Please submit testimony in support of this bill with amendments. Testimonies are due Thursday, February 10, 2022 @ 10 AM via the Hawaiʻi State Capitol Portal.
Share this call to action on your social media channels and spread the word! You can repost the Instagram version of this CTA via @hiprogressiveaction. There is more power in numbers.
(Please scroll down to learn how to testify remotely)
When submitting testimony, please feel free to use the suggested talking points and proposed amendments below:
Talking Points
In 2021, a shocking state audit revealed that the ADC has failed to fulfill its mission within its nearly 30-year existence
The Hawaiʻi State Auditor described the ADC as an agency that "has done little – if anything – to facilitate the development of agriculture enterprises to fill the economic void created by the demise of the sugar and pineapple industries."
Prior to the 2021 audit, the ADC has also faced additional scandals throughout the years. This includes being sued for blatantly mismanaging land and water resources, people dying on ADC-managed lands, denying local farmers leases without justification, violating the Clean Water Act, allowing tenants to operate without formal leases, and leasing the majority of their landholdings to agrochemical companies that test experimental pesticides and grow herbicide-resistant seed crops.
If Hawaiʻi is to meet its goals of doubling food production for local consumption, the agency must be reformed. Rather than focusing on using agribusiness for export, ADC-managed lands could be used to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s food security.
Several studies have shown that small farmers overwhelmingly identified a lack of access to affordable, right-sized farm leases as a major barrier to farming. If the state is to meet its local food production goals, the ADC should be a part of the solution in prioritizing access for farmers that are committed to sustainably producing food for local consumption.
The state audit found that the ADC was lacking in deep agricultural expertise. The ADC should seek to increase the agricultural expertise on its board and staff through its strategic planning process. According to James Nakatani, the Executive Director of the ADC, “no one [at the agency] has a deep agricultural background.”
Despite being required by statute, the ADC never developed an agribusiness plan for defining and establishing goals, objectives, policies, and priority guidelines. Having this plan in place would help the agency to fulfill its mission.
Proposed Amendments
Please amend HB2418 to set more specific requirements for the amount of land leased or licensed for food production for local consumption. Additionally, please ensure that vacating lessee's or licensee's do not leave soils contaminated for future use.
We recommend that the ADC ensures the following by July 1, 2027:
At least 80% of all lands within its inventory are leased or licensed for agricultural production
At least 50% of production from its lessees or licensees is intended for local consumption and produced in accordance with the principles of sustainable agriculture
At least 20% of all leases and licenses of its lands are for parcels no greater than twenty acres
Leases or licenses of at least 20% of all lands within the corporation's inventory prohibit the use of any materials not compliant with the United States Department of Agriculture National Organic Program regulations pursuant to title 7 Code of 11 Federal Regulations part 205
No land within the corporation's inventory shall be leased or licensed to any agricultural operation that meets the regulatory definition of a concentrated animal feeding operation as defined by United States Environmental Protection Agency regulations pursuant to title 40 Code of Federal Regulation section 122.23.
The corporation shall test the soils of all lands it leases or licenses prior to occupancy.
All leases of lands under the corporation's direct or indirect control shall contain provisions requiring that prior to expiration of the lease or the lessee's or licensee's vacating of the leased property, the lessee or licensee shall procure the service of an independent third-party to test the soils and remove any and all contaminants above the levels existing at commencement of the lease or license term.
(Click here for full legislative website guide)
Thank you for standing alongside us to fight for a more just Hawaiʻi!
Before you go, take a look at this update we have on some food & agriculture bills we’re tracking that have passed their first hearing.
BILL UPDATEs
Bills We Support That Passed their First Hearing
SB2218: Food Hubs (Unamended)
SB2509: GE Tax for GE Crops (Unamended)
SB2955: Composting (Unamended)
SB2982: Food Hubs (Unamended)
HB1844: Farm to School Position UH (Unamended)
HB1864: Farm to School (With amendments)
Bills We Oppose That Passed their First Hearing
SB2473: ADC & Economic Development (With amendments)
