Simeon and Katherine Rojas have sued the state and an agriculture park manager for negligence, raising questions about Hawaii’s management of ag lands. When Simeon and Katherine Rojas secured a 15-year lease for three acres at the state-owned Kahuku Agricultural Park in December 2016, it seemed like a dream come true.
Simeon Rojas had learned aquaponics farming at the University of Hawaii’s GoFarm program in Waimanalo, and the lease would allow the couple to realize their vision: a small, sustainable operation growing lettuce, tilapia and catfish. They called it Hooah Farms. Less than five years later, the couple’s plans have run into serious trouble. Their landlord, Thomas Narvaez, has been trying to get rid of the Rojases. For the couple, leaving would mean losing the aquaponics system in which they say they’ve invested $200,000 in cash and tens of thousands more in labor.
Now, the issue is playing out in court. The Rojases have sued Narvaez; his company, Alii Kawa LLC; the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, and the department employee in charge of managing the park, Roy Hasegawa. But they say their problems point to a broader issue: whether the Department of Agriculture is adequately managing its farm lands to help Hawaii grow more of its own food.
According to the couple and court records, first Narvaez tried to evict the Rojases. Later, he shut off their water, even though the couple’s lease requires him to provide access to water. For months, neither the Department of Agriculture, which leases the land to Narvaez, nor Narvaez heeded the couple’s pleas for water. Only after the couple asked a court to step in did Narvaez agree to restore the couple’s water. In the meantime, without an adequate supply of water, the couple’s production has faltered.
Read the complete article at www.civilbeat.org.