The Garden Island learned Friday that an agreement has been reached between Amfac Sugar Kaua’i and Gay & Robinson, Inc. that allows G&R to continue cultivating sugar Amfac planted on its Kekaha acreage leased from the state. “(G&R) have an
The Garden Island learned Friday that an agreement has been reached between Amfac Sugar Kaua’i and Gay & Robinson, Inc. that allows G&R to continue cultivating sugar Amfac planted on its Kekaha acreage leased from the state.
“(G&R) have an agreement with Amfac for some of the cane land and cane crop,” explained Allan Smith, Kaua’i member of the state Agribusiness Development Corporation.
The ADC has taken a lead role to ensure the continued operation of the complex irrigation system for the state-owned Kekaha acreage.
“And they are trying to work out an agreement with them, to move ahead — somehow — someway,” and allow G&R to expand its sugar acreage and continue growing sugar on the fertile Kekaha lands, Smith said. “And, hopefully, they will.”
It is a first step in what may turn out to be an unusual cooperative venture between private-sector businesses and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources as owner of thousands of acres of west-side land that for over a century has been in sugar cultivation.
Amfac Sugar Kaua’i announced last September the end of its Kaua’i agricultural operations in mid-November 2000, leaving hundreds of workers across the island without jobs and the future of its owned and leased lands clouded.
At the time, the last of two remaining Kaua’i sugar companies, and one of just three in the state, Amfac Sugar Kaua’i last year had replanted sugar on both the east side acreage it owns or leases, and west-side acreage leased from the state, with the intent of staying in the sweetener business.
The decision to close came in September, with any cane not harvested by mid-November left in fields. But the fields, particularly the leased, fertile west side fields, were left with no one to care for them.
Enter G&R, which with a coalition of other west side farmers, last year got a right-of-entry permit from the state Board of Land and Natural Resources to continue farming the acreage Amfac had abandoned in Kekaha.
That acreage comes with intricate ditch, tunnel, flume and pump systems that disburse water originating at Koke’e to the various sugar fields and other agricultural uses in the area. A pair of working hydroelectric plants that generate electricity are part of the water system as well.
The DLNR, Amfac, Kaua’i Electric, ADC, and the coalition of farmers led by G&R are all parties to one set of negotiations or another regarding keeping the land in agricultural use and keeping the water and hydroelectric systems intact, Smith said.
G&R heads a coalition of west-side farmers and aquaculturalists who are working to lease nearly all of the state-owned lands formerly farmed by Amfac in and around Kekaha.
The ADC, which falls under the state Department of Agriculture and has broad powers to assume and operate water systems, is playing a major role in planning for the future of the Kekaha lands and water systems.
“It’s falling into place,” Smith said of the Kekaha plan. “Everybody’s taking the posture of, ‘Let’s make it work,’ for the sake of keeping that area viable (in agriculture),” he added.
From U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye and Gov. Ben Cayetano on down, the Kekaha plan has backing from important people in positions to help fund the plan.
“We have everybody’s support. Everybody wants this one to work,” Smith said.
“They don’t want to see things deteriorate for lack of attention,” he said.
There are bills moving through the state Legislature now to fund various aspects of keeping the irrigation and drainage systems intact.
A pressing concern recently addressed was that of an expiring federal permit that allows Amfac to discharge water into the ocean near Kekaha.
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit allowing Amfac to pump water from the Kekaha area and Mana plain into the ocean was to expire, and recently ADC applied to take over that permit.
“Amfac will be going away, so somebody has to take over the permit to continue the discharge. Otherwise, you cannot discharge water into the ocean,” explained Alfredo Lee, ADC executive director.
Pumping out water is a major concern, Lee said.
Kekaha has two major drainage outfalls, and water must be constantly pumped out of the area, or it will return to its original, swamp-like state.
“Basically, that is a major concern, especially if there was a rain,” he said.
Taking over the permit means taking over monitoring responsibilities for the two major pumps which must operate around the clock to control the water table so plants get just enough water without flooding occurring, he said.
Lee said ADC will probably be the entity to hire personnel to operate and maintain the pumps, which are on state land. It will also request funding for the positions and operations of the pumps, Smith said.
The Kekaha lands, formerly farmed by Kekaha Sugar Company (a defunct subsidiary of Amfac), at one time had the highest yields in tons of sugar per acre of any fields in the state, and in the world.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
