Legislature Uproots Taro Bills
The Taro Security and Purity Task Force is a legislative body created by Act 211 in 2008 and is enabled under Act 196 through 2015.
The task force released its legislative report (E ola hou ke kalo; ho鈥榠 hou ka 鈥樐乮na le鈥榠a: the taro lives; abundance returns to the land) in 2010, which outlined challenges facing taro and taro farmers and recommended actions.
Based on the report鈥檚 outcomes, the task force introduced two bills this past session in keeping with the task force鈥檚 mandate to advise state officials on taro-related issues and help support the economic and cultural revival of taro farming across the Hawaiian Islands.
HB734 proposed a new statewide land use classification on public lands only, and specifically for wetland taro lands, that would protect remaining ancient lo鈥榠 lands and supporting structures like 鈥榓uwai (irrigation ditches) from future development.
The bill also added 鈥済rowth and perpetuation of native Hawaiian crops鈥 to HRS 26-7 which outlines agricultural planning policies for the State. A second bill introduced by the task force, HB484, applied the protective 鈥渢aro lands鈥 land use classification to the remaining acres of public lands where wetland taro was cultivated on O鈥榓hu, currently the most at-risk lands for development.
The taro task force bills addressed two pressing issues currently facing the State of Hawai鈥榠 鈥 food security and sustainability, and accessible taro lands on public lands for future generations of taro farmers. Hawai鈥榠 is at highest risk in the category of local staple starch foods production and taro is a superlative choice to fill that gap. Most of the taro lands that would be protected by these bills are currently zoned for conservation but remain at risk as the State considers revenue generation from public lands.
The bills would also save the State millions of dollars in flood mitigation costs by preserving the ecological functions that riparian taro lands provide.
The taro lands classification also lays the foundation for creating a more viable economic future for young farmers within each ahupua鈥檃 and opportunities for community self-sufficiency and cultural, social, and physical health.
Despite passing out of the House with strong community and taro farmer support, HB734 and HB484 did not make it out of the Senate 鈥 held hostage by proponents of the PLDC. A second combined bill, also failed to make it out of Conference.
Misinformation about the impacts of the bills, including that they would impact private lands slated for development (they do not; they only impact public lands), held back unanimous support. Many were also not aware that existing Important Agricultural Lands designations (IALs) only protect private lands. Public lands have no such protections for the important cultural legacy and food production capacity of ancient wetland taro sites.
The Taro Security and Purity Task Force will reintroduce the bills in the upcoming session. It continues to work with the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Land and Natural Resources to identify and map taro lands on O鈥榓hu, to help farmers acquire land leases, and to move these pro-active, cost saving bills forward in 2014.
If you would like more information about the bills introduced in this 2013 legislative session and the taro task force, or information on current projects that are helping change the path for H膩loa, please visit or email questions to tsptfhi@gmail.com.
About the author: Emily Kandagawa has been the coordinator for the Taro Security and Purity Task Force since January 2013.
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