Farmers in Hawaii are pushing for more money for state agriculture as they face obstacles ranging from invasive species to infrastructure problems and a fractured supply chain.

The Hawaii Farmers Union, which represents more than 800 farmers, ranchers and food producers statewide, announced Sunday that it will lobby legislators for a drastic increase to the state Department of Agriculture’s $53.6 million budget over the next two years.

The agency currently receives 0.3% of the state budget, a number that the farmers union wants boosted to 3% by 2026. Agricultural funding levels have persistently vexed food producers, especially in light of the state’s almost 15-year-old goal of doubling food production by 2030.

“We need to put our money where our mouth is, to do the work now, not six generations from now,” said Negus Manna, president of the union’s Lanai chapter.

The union finalized its priorities for 2025 on Sunday during its annual convention on Maui, having deliberated for the past year over how to ensure the islands’ resilience and prosperity in the face of countless barriers.

It also announced a rebranding, changing its name from Hawaii Farmers Union United to simply Hawaii Farmers Union.

Manna said he hoped an increase in funding for the agriculture department would help address the agency’s staffing woes by attracting skilled workers and making state agriculture jobs more attractive to young people. Members supported a similar initiative aimed at Maui County’s agriculture department.

Farmers also need more money to cope with other problem areas outlined in the union’s 28-page, 18-point policy statement. Those include stopping the spread of invasive species, increasing access to key infrastructure and housing, increasing food insecurity and alleviating supply chain problems.

Those qualms are not new but will inform the union’s direction and more specific bills for the 2025 Legislative Session, the union’s Advocacy Director Hunter Heaivilin said. 

HFU agreed to back increasing nutrition assistance programs that included local produce, creating grant funding opportunities for small and medium farm operations, ironing out issues in the hemp industry and boosting collaboration with the tourism industry.

More specific legislation could include subsidizing fencing for livestock to manage fire-prone overgrowth, native and cultural crop cultivation or creating an agricultural housing task force, Heaivilin added.

The union also agreed to support community-centered policies for the coming year, including the adoption of a $1.3 million food hub pilot project as a permanent state program under the Department of Agriculture.

Fifteen of the state’s food hubs collectively made about $18 million in 2023, with 70% of that money going directly to food producers, Hawaii Food Hub Hui director Saleh Azizi said. 

“There’s no serious talk about food security without them,” said Azizi, who is also HFU’s policy director.

The farmers’ union has always had a strong focus on climate-friendly and regenerative agricultural practices, including recognition of Indigenous food production methods.

Union President Kaipo Kekona pointed to the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires on Maui as an example of the negative consequences of extractive agriculture and climate change. That is why everyone must look to historical, Indigenous agricultural methods in tandem with innovation production practices, Kekona added.

Native Hawaiian ahupuaa land management — which considers impacts from mountains to sea — is one key method the union supports because it balances food production with environmental health. That includes fishponds, known as loko ia.

The Indigenous knowledge that “our land, our aina, is not just a resource but a living entity that sustains us” is an important part of ensuring food security in Hawaii, Kekona said.  

The state’s food system has to put the community first to securely reach its production goals, Center for Good Food Purchasing co-founder Paula Daniels said.

Daniels, who was a keynote speaker, said people in Hawaii can’t afford not to buy local food, which is often criticized for being too expensive. She pointed to a 2021 Rockefeller Foundation study that found that health, environmental and socioeconomic impacts need to be factored into the cost of food.

“We all need to shift our thinking. It costs too much to not buy local food,” Daniels said. “There are too many positive benefits from a more local food system. There’s job creation, economic diversification, value retention, better health outcomes, and a better environment.”

The agriculture department and Agribusiness Development Corp.’s directors also shared their goals as the next legislative session looms. 

The agriculture department aimed to address agricultural theft, biosecurity, access to low-interest loans and reinvigorating the state’s agricultural statistics service, director Sharon Hurd said. 

The Agribusiness Development Corp. will continue to work on acquisition and rehabilitation of key agricultural infrastructure to ensure access to land and water. But farmers and ranchers need to raise their voices and make their needs known by all levels of government, ADC director Wendy Gady said. 

Hurd and Gady urged food producers to get more engaged in the civic process to ensure that their concerns are heard and addressed as swiftly as possible. 

“The knife fight has already started,” Gady said. “You need to show up to your legislators in your communities, you need to tell them what’s the priority to you.”

“Hawaii Grown” is funded in part by grants from the Stupski Foundation, Ulupono Fund at the Hawaii Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.