So why not lease portions of this land to small farmers? It could be a win-win-win situation: the land-owners avoid selling off their land during a down market, but are able to generate cash flow, farmers are able to ply their livelihood without Mortgaging their future, the people of Kauai are blessed with more local food. (Indeed, the area around Honoka'a on Hawaii Island is a model for land use of this sort.)

It's a nice fantasy, but in actuality this scenario on Kauai is still in its infancy - for whatever reason, there's just not much leased land available - yet. Grove Farm has some pieces adjacent to the Isenberg Tract in Lihue that are currently leased to Pioneer Seed - there is a waiting list. The State of Hawaii is offering a couple of pieces in Hanapepe with 35 year leases.

There is good news on the horizon, however: within the next few years, Grove Farm has plans to open the Agricultural Maha'ulepu Valley, 800 acres of leased land for diversified ag mauka of Poipu (contact me if you'd like an application ).