Maui looks to
curtail farm thefts

Officials want to stop a
growing problem that costs
farmers $1M a year statewide

KAHULUI » Officials on Maui say they want to stop theft of fruits and vegetables from farms on the Valley Isle before it gets any worse.

"Why not nip it in the bud?" asked county development official Kenneth Yamamura.

The state estimates Hawaii agriculture losses to theft at about $1 million a year.

The problem escalated in September when an Oahu farmer shot and killed a man he believed was stealing his crops. Kahuku farmer Khamxath Baccam is scheduled to go on trial in late December on second-degree murder charges in the slaying of Marcelino Pacheco Jr.

On Maui, Glenn Yamada said thieves stole about $80,000 worth of crops and equipment from his 29-acre Kula farm over a recent two-year period, while the Maui Tropical Plantation in Waikapu has had papayas, bananas, mangos and other crops stolen, sometimes in broad daylight.

"It's not as bad as Oahu yet," said Yamamura of the Maui County Office of Economic Development and a former commercial farmer.

Farm theft is a topic that Yamamura, Mayor Alan Arakawa and the mayor's Agriculture Advisory Group have been discussing.

Stolen produce is hard to track, especially if there are no specific markings on the fruits or vegetables, Arakawa said.

The mayor, his advisory group, the Maui County Farm Bureau and the Hawaii Farm Bureau want to change state law to bring awareness of current agricultural tracking systems and to help prevent stores from selling stolen produce.

Farmers want to add references to a required "agricultural certificate" to the state law that covers theft of farm equipment, supplies or products, said Warren Watanabe, president of the Maui County Farm Bureau. The certificate offers proof of the seller, owner, buyer or consignee and lists the name and address of the farm from which the products originated, creating a paper trail that officials can use to determine if products for sale are stolen, according to state agriculture officials.

Reny Platz, operations manager at the Maui Tropical Plantation, said he once saw his produce being sold at a local market.

"If there weren't places to sell it, then they wouldn't be stealing it," he said.

Some small farms in Upcountry Maui have been hit hard by thieves.

Yamada's farm in Kula had a major problem from 2000 to 2002, when thieves walked off with onions, tools and a truck, which has never been recovered, he said. The thefts have decreased since then.

Yamada said police have made some arrests in the case, but the thefts have had a bad impact on businesses.

"When the businesses go downhill, everyone jacks their prices up," Yamada said.

Arakawa said that if people knew how hard farmers work, "they wouldn't be stealing stuff from the farmers."