Category: Agriculture Grants

Star Advertiser –

Six agricultural businesses have each been awarded $250,000 through an initiative under state Department of Agriculture to quickly increase local agricultural production.

The DOA, in collaboration with the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, was provided $1.5 million from the state Legislature last year for the Grow Hawaii Agriculture Initiative 2021. The goal of the program is to allow six chosen businesses to ramp up their agricultural production.

“The program was impressed with the quality of the 45 proposals it received from diverse agricultural businesses,” said Phyllis Shimabukuro-Geiser, chairwoman of the Board of Agriculture, in a statement. “The proposals were awarded to businesses with proven track records of success and that have demonstrated the ability to significantly increase agricultural production and expand markets for Hawaii-grown commodities.”

Three of the awarded businesses — Agrefab LLC, SK Natural Farms LLC and Zhao Produce Inc. — are based on Oahu. Kawamata Farms is based out of Hawaii County, and Malama Kauai is on Kauai. Hawaiian Golden Farm is on Oahu and Kauai.

The proposals for the six $250,000 awards varied.

Agrefab will use its money to “expand farm operations” and scale up its agricultural drying and juicy facility, while Kawamata Farms plans on expanding its hydroponic greenhouse operation to produce Roma tomatoes.

Malama Kauai will use its award to expand its Moloaa AINA Center food hub to provide processing facilities and aggregation and distribution services for more than 100 Kauai farmers, ranchers and food producers.

SK Natural Farms will “establish a small animal harvest unit” for hog farmers to increase local pork production and address supply chain bottlenecks.

Hawaiian Golden Farm has plans to expand its acreage and automate farming operations while creating value-added products to be sold locally and exported elsewhere. And Zhao Produce will expand its Thai and Italian basil harvest and also create value-added products both for local use and export.

Big Island Now –

The Hawai`i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) is now accepting proposals for the Grow Hawai`i Agriculture Initiative 2021, an initiative to quickly scale up commercial agricultural production including the production of value-added products with the goal to increase the contribution of agriculture to the state’s gross domestic product (GDP). The GDP is the total market value of final goods and services produced that also serves as an indicator of economic health.

Under the Grow Hawai`i Initiative, HDOA expects to award about six proposals from commercial agricultural enterprises for up to $250,000 or some alternate combination deemed most advantageous to the state. This request is for local farmers, ranchers and other operators with proven track record of success but in need of urgent funding to expand their commercial production and to establish working models that can effectively contribute to growth of agriculture GDP by implementing one or more of the strategies as follows:

A. Expansion Expanding the size, diversity and/or scope of operations.

B. Input Chain Enhancement Enhance production through addressing challenges in supply/cost of inputs to an agricultural operation.

C. Technology Increasing production efficiency through use of new and emerging technologies.

D. Supply Chain Enhancement Address the supply chain bottlenecks that plague Hawai´i agriculture, i.e. lack of infrastructure (cold storage, processing, distribution challenges), establishment of cooperative ventures, etc.

E. Value-added Products Increase the value-added potential; either at their hands or by that of another business entity.

Information on the request for proposals may be found at the Hawai‘i State Procurement website.

Applications/proposals must be emailed to marci.clingan@hawaii.gov and received by noon HST, May 3, 2021. Project funds are expected to be available in July 2021.

“The goal of this initiative is to fund projects by proven commercial enterprises that can significantly move the needle for Hawai´i agriculture,” said Phyllis Shimabukuro-Geiser, chairperson of the Hawai´i Board of Agriculture. “We know that with some funding support, local agricultural businesses can overcome some of the roadblocks and barriers that challenge economic growth in agriculture, particularly during this COVID-19 pandemic environment.”

The scope of services and expectations of this proposal are to:

A. Implement business plan immediately to expand or scale-up commercial agricultural production and contribute to growth of agriculture GDP during the term of contract.

B. Develop reasonable and generally accepted business metrics (e.g. output, sales, profits, labor count, assets, etc.) to gauge progress, milestones attained and final outcomes of the project.

C. Record and compile noteworthy experiences (extraordinary progress, outcomes and/or challenges encountered).

D. Meet with the State upon request to report on the project’s status, progress and other issues or challenges that may arise during course of work.

E. Maintain proper accounting procedures and practices acceptable to the State, including, maintaining books, records, documents and other evidence related to project’s performance.

F. Provide for the State’s approval a progress report, progress fiscal report, final report and final fiscal report at specified times.

This initiative is a collaboration with the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), University of Hawai´i. Funds for this program totaling $1.5 million in were provided by the State Legislature last session.

Questions regarding the application process may addressed to HDOA’s Agricultural Development Division via email at: matthew.k.loke@hawaii.gov.

The Maui News

A $2.5 million grant program has helped 105 small farms across Maui County purchase much-needed supplies and boost their visibility online.

Maui County’s Agricultural Micro Grants Program, which is administered by the nonprofit Maui Economic Opportunity, purchased tractors, chippers and other supplies; put up fencing and sheds; and established an online presence for the farms.

The program was established to allow small farms to receive grants up to $25,000 to directly increase the availability of local produce, livestock, poultry and farm products while increasing agricultural capacity, productivity, name recognition and income, MEO said in a news release Monday.

With the program winding to a close, MEO Business Center Director David Daly said Monday that his team is working on putting the finishing touches on the last couple of grants and the program.

To qualify, farms had to have a state general excise tax number, and the owners had to reside in Maui County. Preference was given to socially disadvantaged applicants, such as women and Native Hawaiians, and food-producing farm businesses that operate on fewer than 12 acres in Maui County.

Carol Voss of citrus fruit farm Laoa Farms in Kula received a $14,000 grant and used the money to buy farm equipment, including a chipper/shredder, lawnmowers and weed whackers, as well as fertilizer.

“We needed equipment; that’s our biggest drawback,” Voss said.

The farm produces about 5,000 pounds of lemons, limes, oranges, peaches and nectarines annually. Voss said the pandemic did not really affect their business because their distributor, LocalHarvest, kept accepting their fruit.

Her husband, David, is the mechanic for the 4-acre farm, keeping the old and hand-me-down machinery going. He recently learned that he had cancer, and the treatment sapped his energy and his ability to care for the equipment.

Then they learned about the grant from the Maui County Farm Bureau.

“I appreciate the county and whoever put this together for small farmers,” Voss said. “Usually, everything’s big grants, you gotta make $50,000 to get something. This was nice that it was small. . . . I assume it benefited a lot of small farmers on this island.”

Her husband, meanwhile, is on his way to recovery.

Payments through the grants program were made directly to vendors, according to MEO. Daly noted that vendors have been paid but that some farmers have not yet received equipment or materials due to manufacturing shortages and weather issues.

The money was used for farming equipment and machinery; processing and storage equipment; farm expansion, such as fencing and sheds; supplies, including fertilizers, soil amendments, seeds, plants and small tools; packing and packaging materials; technology equipment; marketing supplies and services, including website development; health and safety upgrades; and professional development and education.

MEO’s Business Development Center received more than 220 applications from October to January. The 105 grants included fruit, vegetable, aquaponics, livestock, herb, Native Hawaiian and medicinal plant farms, Daly said.

He added that there is a wait list of more than 80 applicants.

MEO is referring farmers to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s $1.9 million Micro-Grants for Food Security Program, which offers up to $5,000 to support small-scale gardening, herding and livestock operations, as well as religious groups and food banks.

Applications may be found at hands.ehawaii.gov/hands/ opportunities/opportunity-details/20023. The deadline for emailing the completed forms to hdoa.addrfp@hawaii.gov is noon April 23. Awards are expected to be announced in May, with first disbursement of funds expected in July.

For more information, contact the department’s Market Development Branch by phone at (808) 973-9595 or by email at hdoa.addrfp@hawaii.gov.

For more information about business planning and micro loans offered by MEO, contact the Business Development Center at (808) 553-3270 or at david.daly@meoinc.org.