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The state is poised to spend $13 million on 1,750 acres of agricultural land in a plan to boost farm production and food security. But obstacles remain to making the farming experiment on central Oahu lands owned by the George Galbraith Estate a success.

“To acquire the land by itself doesn’t assure successful ag,” said Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, who represents the district where the former pineapple fields have laid fallow since 2006. He’s helping craft plans for cultivating the land near Wahiawa in a way that will not only lead to increased food production, but job creation and redevelopment of the region.

The sale of the land, owned by 600 heirs of the Galbraith Estate, to the state has been in the works for years. The final closing date is scheduled for December 10, according to Jimmy Nakatani, executive director of Hawaii’s Agribusiness Development Corporation, which will be in charge of about 1,200 acres.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs will oversee the other 500 acres, which includes sacred Native Hawaiian birthing stones. The total sales price is $25 million, with additional funding coming from sources including the U.S. Army, the city and OHA. The Trust for Public Land, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, is brokering the deal.

The land purchase is being applauded as a big step toward Hawaii’s goals of food sustainability at a time when increasing amounts of farmland are being turned over to development. In the past year, state regulators have reclassified about 2,000 acres of prime agricultural lands for the major Oahu housing developments of Hoopili and Koa Ridge.

“(The sale) has the potential to make an enormous difference in terms of impact,” said Kyle Datta, a general partner at Honolulu-based Ulupono Initiative, a private investment firm focused on food and energy sustainability. (The Ulupono Initiative was founded by Pierre Omidyar, who is also the founder and publisher of Civil Beat.)

Datta estimates that the land could produce $75 million worth of food annually and account for 2 cents out of every dollar that is spent on food in Hawaii. Currently, only 8 cents per dollar is spent on local food sources, he said. The Ulupono Initiative estimates that 44 cents out of every dollar spent on food could potentially come from local sources.

“It’s a move the needle, big deal thing,” he said of the Galbraith acquisition.

The land is arable and capable of growing an abundance of fruits and vegetables as well as raising livestock, according to farming experts.

But it also has its challenges, and hefty, additional investments will be required to spur operations.

The soil is degraded from years of pineapple production. And there’s a lack of infrastructure, including only one well, which doesn’t come close to supplying the irrigation needs of farmers.

Nakatani said that the pineapple operations, which didn’t require much water, largely relied on rainwater.

State officials are looking to Lake Wilson as the prime source of water, but it’s polluted. Datta said that water from the reservoir could be used to irrigate pastures, but if it is used directly on crops, a treatment system will be needed to get rid of pathogens.

As for the soil, Datta estimated that it would cost $1,000 to $2,000 per acre a year to remediate, or up to $3.4 million for the entire tract of land.

Dela Cruz is also working on acquiring a 24-acre parcel of land from Castle & Cooke for $3.6 million that has a packaging and processing facility.

State officials couldn’t provide a tally of the total investment needed on infrastructure and remediation. But Dela Cruz said that the state would likely seek the help of private companies.

He said that the Galbraith Estate lands could become a model for other state farming initiatives.

“If we can prove that this is revenue-generating and that farming is profitable, than we can justify acquiring even more land,” he said.

Nakatani said that farmers are already clamoring for parcels.

“What I’m finding is that it seems that we have a lot more inquiries than have land for,” he said.

The Agribusiness Development Corporation that the land could accomodate up to 25 farming operations.

Neither the ADC nor OHA have developed plans for how the lands might be leased out to farmers. But Nakatani said that it would be available at affordable rates and that his agency was focused on production farmers as opposed to novice farmers.

“I think that what is important is that this program is a success,” he said.