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Agriculture

Micro Fund Launched for Native Hawaiian Farmers

Wednesday, May 6th, 2026

OHA News Release

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has launched the Mahiʻai Micro Fund Program, an initiative providing direct, flexible financial support to Native Hawaiian farmers across Hawaiʻi to help offset rising operational costs and strengthen agricultural enterprises.

The program offers two tiers of funding to meet varying needs across the state’s farming community. Farmers impacted by the recent Kona Low weather events may be eligible for awards of up to $5,000, while other eligible farmers may receive awards of up to $3,000 to support ongoing operational costs. This approach ensures that immediate recovery needs are addressed, while continuing to support the broader stability and sustainability of Native Hawaiian farming operations statewide.…

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Earth Day, Kūpaʻa Ka Mauli

Thursday, April 23rd, 2026

Earth Day, Kūpaʻa Ka Mauli

By Léo Azambuja

Hundreds of residents celebrated Molokai Earth Day 2026 at Mitchell Pauole Center last week. The event showcased dozens of conservation agencies, groups and organizations, while offering live entertainment and local food.

“This year’s theme is Kūpaʻa Ka Mauli, which could be translated as Stand Firm,” said Russell Kallstrom, program manager at The Nature Conservancy on Molokai. “Oftentimes, we know what we need to do, but we need to have the courage to do it and to stand for it.”

Between attending public, volunteers and exhibitor staff, organizers estimated about 800 people went through the free event April 18.…

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Hoʻoulu ʻOhana  Hydroponics Workshop

Friday, March 27th, 2026

Hoʻoulu ʻOhana  Hydroponics Workshop

By Léo Azambuja

A hydroponics workshop taken a couple years ago had deep positive impacts on a local family — plus dozens of other families they were able to feed. But it didn’t stop there. Last week, Vanalouise Naehu taught her first workshop to families who wanted to learn the same system she used to produce so much food in such a small space.

“So far, I’ve done five rounds, so that’s over the span of 30 to 35 weeks,” said Naehu, owner of Heavenly Oasis hydroponic farm. “I’ve been able to feed about 70 people — about 26 households together — from all five rounds.…

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Food Summit Celebrates Youth in Agriculture

Thursday, October 23rd, 2025

Food Summit Celebrates Youth in Agriculture

By Léo Azambuja

The Molokai Youth Food Summit underscored the importance of getting the youth interested in agriculture. At least 85% of Hawaii’s food is imported, so a key aspect of lessening Molokai’s food dependency on the mainland in the future could be in the youth’s hands.

“Youth is important in agriculture, because they’re going to be our future. We’re going to be standing up and we’re going to be doing what’s right for the world,” Molokai High School student Francis Leo Bumatay said. “If we don’t start now, or if we don’t care about the plants or the ground that we have, what do we have after that?”…

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Yard to Table

Thursday, December 5th, 2024

Yard to Table

With Thanksgiving fresh in the mind, The Molokai Dispatch reached out to our local University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (UH CTAHR) agents to get ideas for a couple easy crops that Molokai residents can grow in their own backyards. Kyle Franks, UH CTAHR Extension Agent, had a couple suggestions.

Sweet Potato

“It’s easy to grow,” said Franks. You want to start with what’s called slips, which are rooted sprouts that grow out of the sweet potato tuber. Franks recommended using the slips from the new growth ends of the mother plant to avoid weevil eggs.

“Weevils are one of the more predominant pests for sweet potatoes,” he explained.…

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Seeding for Success

Friday, October 25th, 2024

Seeding for Success

While Molokai is home of the Molokai High Farmers, many agricultural farmers here continue to navigate challenges with small-scale food production from access to equipment to the cost of shipping.

“I don’t think [farming] is easy,” said Jorgen Busby, a Molokai kalo farmer and member of Molokai’s chapter of the Hawaii Farmers Union United (HFUU). “I think it’s a hard thing, but maybe we can get more people passionate about doing it.”

After retiring as a firefighter, Busby turned to small scale agriculture on his family’s lands.

“Instead of buying it, grow it yourself,” Busby encouraged. “It’s doable.”

To celebrate and support its farmers, Molokai’s chapter of the HFUU made the trip over to Maui for a special conference in honor of National Farmers Day.…

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Joe Kennedy Marks a Half-Century of Farming on Molokai

Wednesday, June 5th, 2024

Joe Kennedy Marks a Half-Century of Farming on Molokai

Joe Kennedy won’t give up. He’s been farming on Molokai for 55 years and despite heart trouble and a fractured pelvis, the 83-year-old is determined to keep producing food and to share his wealth of knowledge.
“I had a charmed childhood,” said Kennedy, who grew up in Missouri, where the family had a farm and loved gardening and nature. Although he earned a college degree in teaching and art, what he really wanted was to farm. While teaching in Alaska, his supervisor recommended he try Hawaii.
“Oahu was too commercialized,” said Kennedy, “but when I came to Molokai in 1969, I took one look at the land and people and knew I was going to stay.…

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Revitalizing Agroforestry

Wednesday, October 18th, 2023

Hawaii Edible Landscaping News Release 

The public is invited to attend “Revitalizing Hawaii with Agroforestry”, a free evening presentation, on Friday, Oct. 27, 5:30-7:00 p.m., at Lanikeha Community Center in Hoolehua. 

Dave Sansone, owner of Hawaii Edible Landscaping, LLC on Hawaii Island will be sharing how agroforestry practices can help cultivators meet their needs while protecting and revitalizing the health of the land and water. Looking for a Greensboro landcaping contractor? Contact Ground Scapes for expertise in implementing sustainable landscaping practices that nurture both your garden and the environment.

“Agroforestry is a set of sustainable agriculture practices with ancient roots that can increase production, beat the weeds naturally, and improve the soil,” Sansone explains.…

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The Small Scale Farm

Wednesday, October 18th, 2023

Community Contributed 

By Kyle Franks, CTAHR, DHHL Jr Extension Agent

There is momentum building toward small farms as more and more people see the need for locally produced foods and products. With the events of the past three years, supply line weaknesses have been highlighted and these weaknesses, coupled with being an island community, have helped show how we as individuals and as a community are all affected by even the smallest ripples within a centralized supply chain. 

Here in Hawaii, we have the blessing of a year-round growing season, and yet currently Hawaii’s population is hugely dependent on centralized supply chains for 85-90 percent of the population’s food-needs.…

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Molokai Irrigation System Rate Increase

Wednesday, August 16th, 2023

Molokai Farm Bureau News Release 

The Molokai Farm Bureau would like to remind those who receive water via the Molokai Irrigation System (MIS), that the Hawaii Department of Agriculture is holding a public hearing for their proposed 122 percent rate increase for water delivery services. An increase of 122 percent would increase an average monthly bill of $500 to $1,110 a month, or $1,000 to $2,220 a month. 

The public hearing will be on Aug. 22, from 5 to 7 p.m. by Zoom, at us02web.zoom.us/j/81478479811. 

Molokai residents can submit written testimony three different ways: via email at HDOA.ARMD@hawaii.gov; via fax at (808) 973-9467; or postal mail to Agricultural Resource Management Division c/o Department of Agriculture, 1428 S.…

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