Agriculture

Agriculture is critical to self-sufficiency and food security. Instead of continuing to import 90% of our food, we need to take steps to produce more food locally. The Administration is committed to making farming and local food production a thriving industry.

Ige Administration Agriculture Plan

Develop a long-range plan to increase the local food production from the current 10% to at least 20% by the end of the decade. The plan will also include the identification of lands for the production of flowers and nursery products, for raising livestock, and for developing bio-fuels. This plan will be used to guide decisions for irrigation and other infrastructure.
Provide more low-interest loans to farmers and ranchers.
Identify and preserve up to 200,000 acres of prime agricultural land to increase food production.
Establish agricultural parks statewide to accommodate small family farms.
Improve the monitoring of transported agricultural goods to prevent the introduction of invasive species.
Ensure sufficient funding for state pesticide officers who monitor, regulate, and enforce the use of restricted-use pesticides in order to protect the health and welfare of our residents.
Work with our Congressional delegation to enact a federal law to require GMO labeling. The public has the right to know what they are consuming, but there is a need for consistency across states that only the federal government can ensure. A federal law will avoid hurting local farmers, food manufacturers and distributors, who would incur added costs of complying with a state labeling law. A state GMO labeling law will be supported only if there are no adverse economic impacts on local farmers, food manufacturers and distributors.