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From the outside, Hawaii looks like rainbows, waterfalls and sunshine. The reality is that Hawaii stands at a critical crossroad.

We face compounding crises that pose risk to us and the web of life.

Some of these challenges include having the highest density of endangered species in the world, a lack of food security due to importing nearly all of our food in a “just on time economy,” severely degraded farmlands from industrial agriculture, skyrocketing costs for agriculture inputs, and increasing hunger and malnutrition across the Hawaiian Islands as food prices continue to rise.

Thankfully, there are solutions that can address these issues all at once.

Agroecology and agroforestry are two complimentary agricultural systems that can help gardeners, farmers, Hawaiian cultural practitioners, and native plant restorationists to work with nature to beat the weeds naturally, increase production, and reduce expenses and labor while creating habitat for native species and protecting the water from erosion and nutrient runoff.

According to Miguel Altieri, the “Godfather of Agroecology,” “Agroecology uses ecological concepts and principles for the design and management of sustainable agroecosystems where external inputs are replaced by natural processes.”

Over the last 40 years Altieri has been active in working with farmers around the world to support them in developing agroecosystems rooted in indigenous and local knowledge to heal the land and increase production.

When cultivators learn how to work with nature’s processes, instead of fighting them, they “let nature do the work” which can reduce inputs and expenses while increasing on-farm diversity and production.

While agroecology is little known in Hawaii, the wide-scale successes that Latin America has seen offers inspiration and a hint at potential possibilities for Hawaii since we face increasingly similar challenges.

Agroforestry is the integration of agriculture and forestry practices and species to create “ecosystem services and benefits.”

One common agroforestry practice in Hawaii is the planting of windbreaks. Windbreak trees protect fields and orchards to reduce the wind, which leads to increased production in a sheltered environment.

An Ancient History

The earliest known example of agroforestry has been dated to 9,000 years ago in Java and is believed to have developed in response to an increasing population with a decreasing resource base — something we face today.

Nearly all of our ancestors practiced what could be described as agroforestry yet many have lost their ancestors’ traditions due to colonization, migration, urbanization, and the promotion of industrial agriculture practices.

Here in Hawaii, the traditional Hawaiian food system — one of the premier ecological agriculture systems of the world — was an estimated 6.5 times more productive than current agriculture operations on one-third of the land with no outside inputs, according to Natalie Kurashima and associated researchers.

Agroforestry played a large role in the traditional Hawaiian food production system and offers solutions for cultivators today. There are increasing numbers of people and groups working throughout Hawaii to revitalize and perpetuate Hawaiian and native plants as well as traditional Hawaiian land-management practices.

Today, native and Hawaiian plants struggle to exist due to severely degraded soil and increasing pressure from invasive pests, plant diseases, and weeds. Strategies like “bio-tilling” with fast growing deep rooted plants and applying beneficial microbes including indigenous micro organisms can quickly break up and revitalize the soil deeper than a tractor can for a fraction of the cost, leading to healthier and happier plants.

Agroforestry practices like groundcover plants, cover crops, and “grow your own mulch” offer natural solutions to beat the prolific invasive weeds that most cultivators fight to prevent crop failure. When the weeds are out of the picture, groundcover plants can prevent weed seeds from germinating while also fertilizing them and holding moisture in the soil.

With each agroforestry practice, soil and plant health increases once again leading to increased production.

Well-designed, time-tested agroforestry systems can offer higher yields with less inputs and labor over time which makes room for native species in windbreaks, pollinator habitat rows, and as “helper plants” like ground covers and nitrogen fixing plants that gather free nitrogen from the air.

When we combine all these practices, we can create beautiful and bountiful gardens, farms, and forests that heal the soil and have lower costs with higher production.

This can allow gardeners, farmers, and community organizations to provide increasing amounts of food locally with reduced dependence on outside inputs. While there is much promise, there is also a steep learning curve as diversity is increased.

As Masanobu Fukuoka, the famous Japanese no-till farmer said, “Start small, learn from your mistakes, and build on your successes.”

To learn more about how to apply these systems in your garden, farm, and restoration sites, attend the upcoming free online seminar, “An Evening of Agroecology and Agroforestry” with Miguel Altieri and David Sansone on Indigenous People’s Day, Oct. 14, from 4-7 p.m.

The event is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, UH-Hilo Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resource Center, and the Marine and Environmental Research Institute of Pohnpei.

Click here for the . And for more details and to register for free educational materials, .