Taro Task Force Receives $270,000

Taro Security and Purity Task Force News Release

The Taro Security and Purity Task Force (TSPTF) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a grant of $135,000 per year for two years from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA).

The funding will allow TSPTF to continue to advocate for the needs of taro farmers and the perpetuation of taro growing, as well as to facilitate implementation of recommendations put forth in its 2010 Report to the Legislature, titled E ola hou ke kalo; ho’i hou ka äina lë’ia: The taro lives; abundance returns to the land. The report can be viewed at oha.org/pdf/TSPTF_Report_091229.pdf.

“We are grateful to OHA for their unflinching support of this important cause to expand taro production and keep Haloa thriving. They were with us from the beginning and have been consistent in supporting our efforts,” said Glenn Teves, Acting Chair of the Task Force.

The passing of Act 211 by the 2008 Hawaii State Legislature established the Taro Security and Purity Task Force as a means of guiding research and improving support for taro, taro farmers and taro markets across a wide spectrum of issues. Its 18 members include two taro farmers each from Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Molokai and Hawaii, and one from Lanai, as well as representatives from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, OHA, University of Hawaii, Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, `Onipa`a Na Hui Kalo (a statewide organization of taro growers) and a representative for the Hawaiian taro varieties collections. As a legislatively formed body, the composition of the task force is unprecedented in its majority of seats held by active taro farmers.