Bobby Pahia

Photo: Bobby Pahia Photographer: Cadencia Photography — Photo: Bobby Pahia
Photographer: Cadencia Photography

“This will not be the last pandemic. It is a time to take a good look at food security and how COVID-19 can help us encourage new models.”

Bobby Pahia has 34 years of farming experience: from the University College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources to managing 310-acre Hoaloha Farms in Waikapu. Hoaloha Farms produces dozens of kalo varietals, a myriad of crops, pigs, and supplies to establishments such as Star Noodle, Leoda’s Pie Shop, and Old Lahaina Lu’au. Bobby has become a profound mentor for farmers and others all across Hawai’i. We were able to catch up with Bobby in May 2020.

What changes have you made in your business/lifestyle/platform to adapt to our current situation?

It was interesting. Prior to COVID my market was mostly servicing the hospitality industry. I just never had the capacity to fulfill the need out in the community. So when this happened, I pivoted away from the hospitality industry, and now I can adjust to the needs of all the people here. I'm kind of happy about that. I'm really fortunate, because there always seems to be a shortage of the crops I grow. I don't have trouble getting rid of my Hawaiian taro, because the need was always there. I just didn't have the capacity to address both the hospitality and all the needs of the community.

“The goal of our farm is to feed a nation.”

I lost some of the labor, but I'm creating a new model here. I just put together something with my former laborers, because those guys are on the front lines. They are the real hammers that do the day-to-day work. They know the whole operation. Due to COVID, I don’t have the finances to pay out unemployment, so we created a sharecropping model. I'll be providing the land, the water and the finances up front so we get some crops in the ground. Then we can move forward, the guys can continue work and when we harvest, everyone gets a share of those profits. It was a big decision for them to make, but we came to an agreement. That's what I’m going to be doing moving forward. Starting tomorrow we will be working as a collective.

“We're finding that the food exists but the distribution is broken.”

What food system vulnerabilities have been exposed in this crisis?

We're finding that the food exists, but the distribution is broken. For example, the hogs and other crops that were being grown for the lu’au: that’s about one hog per day, 400 hogs every year that are no longer being purchased. We had to pivot to a whole different ball game. So now we are cutting up our hogs into a quarter, half, three quarter. Then we needed to find a butcher who could butcher the certified hogs and get [the meat] out to the community. The Millhouse was cutting up and selling pork in boxes. So now we are having to take a different approach. But you know, we're just trying different solutions. All the restaurants are closed. Everybody's closed. So who is your customer? Who is the consumer?

The bottleneck right now is trying to find a butcher that wants to work with us so we can make cuts that are more affordable for the common family.

“It's paramount that I create an innovative model that works, and that it's a team effort”

How long were you all projecting for this new reality?

I'll tell you what, my reality three months ago was that I had a corporation that paid for all my bills, paid all my salaries, paid my workers, paid everything. Now that's history. That was yesterday. Now I have to figure out how to keep this 310 acre farm afloat and make sure everybody can make a living, because I have 13 farmers that depend on me. It's paramount that I create an innovative model that works, and that it's a team effort. We don't have a safety net anymore, and everybody has to be accountable. We're going to create a system here: It’s a village that works together, because we all need one another.

Do you feel that from the community that there's more support coming in for you folks?

Totally. Yeah. Big time. Way more. Like a hundred times more.

“It feels good to get healthy food out to our own local people.”

How does that feel?

It feels good. It feels good to get healthy food out to our own local people. And you know, this whole situation really underscores the fact that we need to put more than 0.4% [towards agriculture] in our [state] budget. We need to do more than talk about food security; hopefully our people at the Legislature will take a hard look at this, because if they don't correct their priorities and this type of situation happens again, that would be a real shame. We’re the guys who put them in office, and hopefully this brought an awareness in the political arena. How are these people at the Legislature voting?

I think some good things came out of it. I hate to say that, because there were a lot of bad things. Of course it's terrible. But the flip side of that is people are being made aware of the need to take a good look at food security, and to take a harder look at the tourism industry. I think the community has woken up. Now they're supporting local farmers. It takes this kind of crisis for our community to figure this out.

“I think the community has woken up.”

What is your vision for the future?

The goal of our farm is to feed a nation, so we're going to address that one bite at a time. One of the first places we want to provide food is in school. If I had anything to lobby for it would be to streamline this procurement process. We gotta make the farming system work so that everybody benefits, especially the guys in the trenches. Those guys always get the short end of the stick. They work hard and break their backs out in the field. Usually the landowner or the big boss doesn’t give them breaks, so I'm bringing them into the fold, so to speak. This is a model [of sharecropping] that strongly believes in those guys.

We really have to look at our values and what is important here -- really take a look at are the pros and cons of being isolated in the middle of the ocean, and how we can leverage that.

“What did we learn, and how did we leverage this whole situation for the betterment of mankind?”

How do you see this crisis being described in the history books of the future?

I think what's going to be important is how we respond. What did we do? Did we learn from the past pandemics that we've experienced in the 1800s, the early 1900s? What did we do as a generation? What did we learn, and how did we leverage this whole situation for the betterment of mankind? That's what I'm looking for. Because this is going to happen again. This is not the last pandemic we will see. If we look at history, history will teach us.

Who are your local food heroes?

For sure Ryan [of Oko’a Farms]. It's how they approach everything in their mindset: how they adapt and become adept at different practices. Even within the holistic system, you still have to adapt. They are doing pretty amazing work throughout the system.

What do you want the community to know in order to help?

If you have a yard, plant something. Plant food. Because if you do that, you're going to help fix our dependence on outside food sources. Whether you plant a mango tree, a banana tree, an avocado tree, anything. If you don't have land, then look for people who are willing to create these types of models. What is the value of our efforts to the village, to the tribe, to the Nation? What are you doing to bring value to the community? That's a different type of value.

“Plant something. Plant food… If you do that, you're going to help answer our dependence on outside food sources.”