Exactly how much land in Hawai‘i is used for agriculture?
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture has released an agricultural land use study which provides information on the location of commercial agriculture activities statewide.
The 2015 baseline study updates the last survey done in 1980 and provides current information and maps of the locations of Hawaii’s farms and ranches. The 1000 page report published under contract with UH Hilo is intended to help the community to make decisions about agricultural land use in the state.
The passing of the sugar and pineapple industries has created a dramatic shift in land use – the amount of agricultural use dropping sixty percent over the last 35 years. Jeffery Melrose is from UH Hilo’s Spatial Data Analysis and Visualization Research lab.
The study is published on the State Department of Agriculture Website.
