Hawai'i used to feed itself. Everything necessary to support a large healthy population was grown and harvested on rich island farmlands.

Those days are long gone.

Only about 15 percent of the foods we consume are locally produced; the rest are shipped in, often by large agribusinesses that use economies of scale to undercut local prices.

Experts agree that Hawai'i will never return to the days of food self-sufficiency. But there's no doubt that we should correct the huge imbalance between what we produce and what we import.

Investing in local agriculture can be more expensive, especially for consumers used to cheap — well, cheaper — food from elsewhere.

But as experts who gathered at an agriculture forum last week pointed out, a healthy local agricultural industry can not only provide fresher, tastier food, but can offer a buffer against outside market forces, including higher shipping costs and Mainland dock strikes. But it will take a sustained and focused effort, from government policy-makers to the public.

One key issue is stability. Farmers need long-term stable access to good ag land and water so they can convince banks to give them loans for machinery and infrastructure to grow their business.

Management of irrigation systems, once under the control of Hawai'i's big ag businesses, also needs to be rethought to support smaller farmers, such as those who grow niche crops like taro.

Creating value-added products can help too, especially for locally grown fresh produce, which accounts for 40 percent of what we consume.

Public-private partnerships to build efficient processing plants that can wash, package and chill local produce — keeping them fresher longer — could be shared by multiple small farmers who aren't able to package their own. Such products could compete with the Mainland ready-to-use counterparts for which customers pay a premium. Such a facility is under study for Kunia, and deserves support.

But the most important way to support local agriculture is to buy its products.

Derek Kurisu, executive vice president for the Big Island's KTA Super Stores, has made it his mission to stock his stores with as many local products as possible. Other supermarkets should too.

But without consumer demand, they won't. That's why public education efforts can help. Hands-on programs in schools can teach potential future farmers the value of agriculture. Ad campaigns can encourage consumers to put at least a few Hawai'i-made products into their shopping cart regularly.

Local agriculture won't dominate the grocery stores anytime soon. But with the right incentives, it can do much better in the long run.