Diversified Agriculture and Development on Kauaʻi

Kauaʻi’s transition from a sugar to tourism economy played a major role in its rural development. As an agriculturally based and rural island, many had hoped diversified agriculture could become a viable livelihood and development strategy in the wake of sugar’s decline. Diversified agriculture was thought of as a way to continue the agricultural heritage of Kauaʻi and help the island be more food secure. With the implementation of plantations and the plantation economy, Kauaʻi began being far more dependent on the United States mainland for food, which only intensified as time went on. 

Today it is estimated 85-90% of food is imported in Hawaiʻi. This makes the state extremely vulnerable, especially to price hikes, due to our dependence on global economies of food production, shipping, and labor. Some argue it is unrealistic and dangerous to pursue a highly localized food procurement strategy in a globalized and unpredictable world. And even if Kauaʻi is producing a lot of its own food, the implements needed to produce that food (e.g., fertilizers, equipment, etc.) are still mostly shipped in, and therefore continue to make our food system dependent on and tied to a global political economy. Despite these issues, many farmers and governmental leaders worked hard to support the hopeful strategy of diversified agriculture, and tried to sustain meat, fruit, vegetable, and milk production on Kauaʻi. 

This primary source set contains documents that show the wide array of challenges and strategies that were encountered as Kauaʻi was transitioning out of a sugar economy. From economic viability to pest management, import and export challenges, and environmental disasters, the documents in this set paint a realistic picture of the role diversified agriculture played in modern day rural change on Kauaʻi. 

This primary source set, which includes materials from the Senator Daniel K. Inouye Papers, was created in 2024, by Laura Williams, a recipient of the Daniel K. Inouye Graduate Archival Research Grant.