Hawaii Department of Agriculture receives $416,808 grant for specialty crops
HONOLULU—The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded a $416,808 grant to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture to enhance the competitiveness of the State’s specialty crops. Specialty crops are defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops, including floriculture.
The Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 authorizes the USDA to make grants available to provide assistance for specialty crops. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 U.S. Farm Bill) amended the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 and authorized the USDA to provide grants to States for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012.
With this federal funding, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture will:
* Partner with the Hawaii Coffee Association to increase awareness and consumption of Hawaiian coffees through promotion and marketing of Hawaii coffee at two major tradeshows.
* Partner with Maui County Farm Bureau (MCFB) to implement a Grown on Maui program that will allow Maui farmers to sustain and maximize sales in current markets and secure new markets. The focus of the program will solely be on specialty crops.
* Partner with Maui Flower Growers’ Association to increase Maui and Hawaii grown cut flower sales and market share in the U.S. market as well as build Hawaii’s floriculture industry through marketing and promotional initiatives.
* Partner with 4 Ag Hawaii, Inc. to promote the “Buy Local, It Matters” branding methodology; provide cost sharing arrangements for Good Agricultural Practices certification audits; and provide for childhood and adult education initiatives of food safety and nutrition knowledge through “Buy Local, It Matters” initiatives as well as e?marketing in conjunction with the 4 Ag Hawaii website. Activities will solely focus on eligible specialty crops.
* Expand diversity and coverage of specialty crops and support the ongoing state marketing program.
* Develop a cookbook that utilizes Hawaii specialty crops as ingredients in food recipes that are healthy and contain nutritional information.
* Partner with University of Hawaii’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources to provide specialty crop farmers with on-farm food safety training, education, extension, outreach, and technical assistance with emphasis on high risk specialty crops.
* Partner with Kokua Hawaii Foundation’s AINA in Schools Program to provide educational materials and cafeteria procurement and preparation guides highlighting Hawaii specialty crops for use by Hawaii schools participating in the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program.
* Partner with Hawaii Pacific Export Council to provide information and resources to small and medium enterprises so they will have the proper tools to successfully export their specialty crops.
* Perform pre-award and post-award activities in order to administrate the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program funding and ensure that the State Agency and sub-awardees abide by Federal and State requirements and regulations.
In all, 54 grants have been awarded across the country totalling approximately $55 million, funding 827 projects. The dollar amount represents a 10 percent increase over last year.