Any step that makes Hawai'i a little more self-sufficient is something to applaud, as long as someone is looking ahead to make sure the way is clear.

So the fact that state lawmakers are supporting plans for a biodiesel processing plant on Maui is hopeful. The plant is supported by Hawaiian Electric Co., which wants to derive more of its power from renewable energy, paring its reliance on petroleum.

A bill to enable a special purpose revenue bond — akin to a state guarantee on the loan — will help finance a plan by BlueEarth Maui Biodiesel LLC to build its plant on 15 acres near Maui's Waena Generating Station. That facility will produce at least 40 jobs and 40 million gallons of biodiesel annually.

While that's all good, BlueEarth is going to start with imported palm oil as the raw material, and that's a little troubling from an ecological standpoint. The global demand for palm oil has pressed some countries to produce it by denuding rainforests.

BlueEarth and its partner, Hawaiian Electric, have committed to importing only palm oil produced on agricultural land that involved no destruction of rainforests. In addition to issuing the bond, the state should also insist that BlueEarth transition to homegrown materials as quickly as possible and to the greatest extent that agricultural resources can support.

That's where the job becomes harder for the state.

Last session, the state Legislature wisely began establishing a process for identifying important agricultural lands and protecting them. But so much more is left to do, and the clock is ticking.

To keep the state's fallow agricultural land available for cultivation, the actual identification must happen before parcels are sold off for development. This session, lawmakers are seeking to expedite that process through House Bill 1922.

Among other things, the bill would repeal the counties' separate process for identifying these lands. This streamlining is essential, but counties and the state Land Use Commission must work cooperatively in the final process.

Other needed incentives for agricultural enterprises also are moving through the Legislature to smooth the way.

While key lands are being set aside, the state must tackle the ultimate challenge: devising a comprehensive plan that balances our need for homegrown fuel and food and apportions our precious land according to that balance.