| Our Team of Experts – Agriculture and Aquaculture
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Dr. Kent Fleming
 Dr.
Fleming is a significant leader in sustainable agriculture in Hawai'i,
and the western US mainland, and in international agricultural consulting.
He holds an MS in agricultural economics from the University of
Wisconsin at Madison, MRAC in farm management from the Royal Agriculture
College in Cirencester, England, and a PhD in strategic management
from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Dr. Fleming is a tenured faculty member of the University of Hawai'i's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources and provides leadership in the agricultural community as a statewide extension farm management specialist. He educates producers and extension agents in applied economic decision-making and has provided extensive risk management education throughout Hawai'i.
In 1992, Dr. Fleming created the "Hawaii Grown" program to enhance the profitability of the state's farms. The innovative program, which encourages farmers and chefs to work together for mutual economic benefit, was recently among the final three candidates for the Outstanding Extension Program Award, presented annually by the Western Agricultural Economics Association.
Dr. Fleming was also instrumental in the genesis of Hawai'i's agritourism program, which aims to increase the profitability and reduce the risk associated with the state's farming enterprises. His vision is that someday people will visit Hawai'i as much for its quality agricultural production and rural ambience as for its weather-similar to the tourism trend of late in Tuscany and Umbria, in Italy. An important strategy of Hawai'i's agritourism program is to encourage a relatively small percentage of the state's millions of annual visitors to visit local farms offering tours and produce for sale and to spend time in the surrounding rural communities. Fundamental to the program have been efforts to teach farmers how to market their farms and products to this niche visitor market.
Dr. Fleming consults with CHC in a variety of arenas, including agritourism and the "Slow Food" movement in Hawai'i. His work on projects for USAID and the USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CREES)-in areas as diverse as East Timor, the Dominican Republic, and Poland-has afforded Dr. Fleming extensive international expertise that will be invaluable to CHC in its development of DOW agriculture facilities around the world.
Philip Helfrich, Ph.D.
Dr. Helfrich brings a most distinguished career as a marine biologist. He was professor of zoology at the University of Hawai'i for 43 years and served as director of the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology for 13 years. He was chosen as the founding director of the Rockefeller Foundation's International Center for Living Aquatic Resource Management (now called The World Fish Center).
Dr. Helfrich directed the Enewetak Marine Biology Laboratory in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and assisted in the establishment of Marine Laboratories in Tahiti, Palau, and New Caledonia. He has a major hand in other fishery/aquaculture ventures in the Asia-Pacific region, and in Africa. |
